Police: Woman Interrupts Break-in at Park Ridge Sub Home

Among the highlights from recent West Bloomfield Township Police Department reports:

Woman interrupts break-in at Park Ridge Sub home

Police are looking for four men who were attempting to break in to a home on the 5100 block of Park Ridge Drive Tuesday around 2:30 p.m.

Three of the men are described as thinly-built, in their late teens-to-early 20s, according to West Bloomfield Police Lt. Tim Diamond. The fourth man, the driver of the vehicle that transported the men, is described as a heavier-built man in his late 20s-to-early 30s.

Police received a tip from a neighborhood woman who was coming home from work that afternoon. She told police she noticed an older model, gray-colored minivan parked at a home on the 5100 block of Park Ridge Drive and said it immediately looked out of place.

So too did the man in the driver's seat, who according to Diamond asked her who lived at the home in order to feign confusion on his part. However, the woman quickly realized what had been happening when three men sprang towards the van from her back yard, Diamond said.

The van quickly sped away, Diamond continued, and an investigation revealed that the three men had attempted to pry screen doors off of the woman's home. There was no plate on the vehicle, she told police.

Diamond added that the attempted home invasion may be connected with a string of recent home invasions in the Bloomfield-Bloomfield Hills and Farmington-Farmington Hills areas.

Cash stolen from high school locker

A 14-year-old basketball player reported cash stolen from his gym locker at West Bloomfield High School, Diamond said.

The incident reported Jan. 9 at about 2:45 p.m. during an after-school basketball team practice, resulted in $500 going missing, according to Diamond. The student told police that he is not sure if he had locked his locker, but that the cash was taken from his backpack.

The school liasion police officer will follow up on the investigation, according to Diamond. 

Decorative inflatable penguins in yard stabbed

Diamond said that three decorative, inflatable penguins were stabbed and deflated overnight on Jan. 1. The penguins, each at more than seven feet tall, had been spreading Christmas cheer to a home on the 5500 block of Dover Ct. that night, according to Diamond.

The penguins were valued at about $150 total, Diamond added. Police have no suspects.

If you have any information about these incidents, you can call West Bloomfield Police at 248-975-9200. For questions about this report, email tim.rath@patch.com.