Mount Pleasant Police Reports

These items were selected from several hundred Mount Pleasant Police Reports filed between July 28 and Aug. 3.

All charges are pending and accused parties are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.

Drama brewing on Country Manor Drive

It started with one neighbor stealing the Yard of the Month sign from another and ended with a family of three being summoned to court on possession of stolen property charges.

On Monday, it was reported to Mount Pleasant police that the neighborhood Yard of the Month sign was stolen from a home on Country Manor Drive.

The caller suggested Steven Taylor, 65, along with his wife and daughter, had the sign. When questioned by an officer, the family denied knowing the whereabouts of the sign but then hinted to the officer they could perhaps produce the sign, if he proved who rightfully owned it, according to the report.

After more than an hour of trekking between homes and talking to several witnesses, Taylor finally took the officer to his daughter’s home in the same neighborhood and retrieved the sign from behind a large piece of furniture.

Apparently, the dispute stems from a change in the homeowner’s association board and the belief that the sign belonged to the association and not an individual, according to the report.

The rightful homeowner's name was clearly written on the back of the sign, according to the report.

The officer issued a courtesy summons for possession of stolen property to Steven Taylor, his wife Julie and daughter Andrea.

Worst repo man ever?

It was supposed to be a simple post-wedding limousine ride between two hotels, but it ended with a wrecked Bentley and an injured chauffeur. Police believe it all stems from a nasty divorce.

Limo driver Michael Vassar told Mount Pleasant police he was waiting on customers outside the Holiday Inn on Johnnie Dodds Boulevard when someone dove into the parked limousine and attempted to speed away.

Vassar fought the man, hanging on as the suspect sped forward and in reverse through the hotel parking lot. When the assailant backed into his own truck, he finally gave up and fled the scene, according to the report.

When police contacted the limo’s listed owner, Thomas Saxon of Myrtle Beach, he said he was going through a divorce and that he was trying to retrieve the car from his wife. He hired a repo man he only knew by the name “Walt” to take possession of the car.

Saxon refused to give more details about the repo man, so police impounded the Bentley. Until Saxon offers more details about "Walt," they told him they would keep posession of the luxury limousine.

The repo man suspect faces charges of aggravated assault and leaving the scene of an accident, the report states.

Elderly man pulls cane knife

Police working a call of simple assault against a home-health nurse, came face-to-face with a 91-year-old man brandishing a cane knife.

Officers said the man appeared disoriented and confused when they entered his residence on Saturday. The man pointed a cane at the officers and then revealed a five-inch blade at the end of the cane.

He kept telling officers he’d only drop his weapon if they holstered their guns, but according to the report, officers never pulled their weapons.

The elderly man was taken to East Cooper Regional Medical Center, and the home health nurse said she did not want to pursue charges because the man “just couldn’t help it.”

Even officers are targets

There have been a rash of thefts from cars across Mount Pleasant in recent months, and even a man of the law is apparently not immune to such crimes.

A Charleston County Sheriff's deputy reported on Friday that he came home to find the front license plate on his county-issued patrol car stolen, according to a Mount Pleasant police report.

It happened sometime between 6 a.m., when the deputy ended his shift, and 5 p.m., when he left his home for a family dinner.

Man with warrants runs, leaves his moped behind

Mount Pleasant police attempted to stop a man on July 29 who was driving a moped, while carrying what appeared to be an alcoholic beverage. Before the officer caught up with the subject, the man fled and ditched the bike in a wooded area.

“I found the moped on the north side of Snowden Rd., laying in the edge of the woods. The lights were on and no occupant was in sight,” the officer wrote in a report.

The moped was registered to 28-year-old Leroy Simmons, who apparently had criminal warrants for his arrest. Simmons reportedly came to the police department on Tuesday where he was issued a citation for reckless driving and arrested on the outstanding warrants.

Termites or pesky teens?

Police were called to Toomer Klin Circle on Saturday on reports of several damaged mailboxes, but when the officer arrived, he didn’t notice much damage beyond normal wear and tear.

“I shook the mailbox … and it fell apart,” the officer reported. “I also noticed a large amount of termites.”

The officer reported that the mailboxes – two that were reported to be damaged – just appeared old but didn’t have any blunt-force damage.

Still, the complainant wanted a report of vandalism, citing that juveniles had likely caused the damage.

Compassion for a deer

Callers reported on July 31 that a deer was badly injured on Greymarsh Road. When the officer arrived, several people were gathered around a deer with an injured neck, legs and head.

The officer cleared the scene, moved the deer from the road and, according to the report, put the animal out of its pain with his service weapon.

Oldest new crime in the book

You could say it’s the oldest crime in the book, except this sort of theft by deception has only been around a few years. It’s just increasingly common.

On Tuesday, a citizen reported to police that someone had hacked her email and sent all of her contacts a message stating she was detained in London and needed $1,500 to come home.

A generous friend went immediately to the grocery store and wired the full amount to a London address, according to the report.

Unfortunately, it’s a common scam nowadays. The woman who filed the report was safe and sound in Mount Pleasant and her caring email contact is out a significant amount of cash.

Mount Pleasant police told the victim that there wasn’t much they could do to retrieve her money across international boundaries.