Scorned ex?
A 39-year-old Oakland Township man, who runs a paddleboard and kayak business at Stony Lake Township Park at 1397 Lapeer Road, reported a harassment incident to deputies on July 11.
According to Oakland County Sheriff’s deputy reports, another man, identified by the victim as a 51-year-old Oxford Township man, was lingering around his place of business at approximately 3:30 p.m. Reports indicate these two men are familiar with one another, the older is the ex-husband of the victim’s current girlfriend, a Lake Orion resident.
On the day of the incident, the Oxford Township man reportedly told the Oakland Township man he was there to “hurt him and ruin his business,” the latest in a year-long series of physical threats, the victim told deputies.
When a bystander attempted to take a picture of the harasser with his cell phone, the man left the area. Before he left, however, the victim said he displayed his middle finger, an obscene gesture witnessed by nearby children.
Slightly after 4 p.m., when the victim was packing up to leave for the day, he noticed the air had been let out of one of the tires on his girlfriend’s car. The victim had been driving his girlfriend’s vehicle that day, as she was borrowing his pickup truck to run other errands.
The suspect was cited for harassing communications, a misdemeanor. The victim completed an application for a personal protection order (PPO) with the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office.

Within walking distance
On July 11, at 7:45 p.m., an employee of the Shell Gas Station, located at 1010 S. Lapeer Road, witnessed a man grab a bottle of vodka from near the register and walk out the door without paying for it.
Responding deputies spoke with the store employee, who recognized the man as the roommate/boyfriend of a former female co-worker and advised authorities the couple lived within walking distance of the gas station.
Upon arrival at the couple’s W. Drahner Road residence, deputies could hear screaming inside and observed the front door partially open.
After identifying themselves and opening the front door fully, authorities saw a man matching the suspect’s description stumbling around the living room of the home and the unopened bottle of vodka lying on the floor.
The suspect, a 43-year-old man with a North Carolina identification card, displayed signs of intoxication, a sign he had been drinking before committing the theft, and was cited for third-degree retail fraud.
He was also given an official trespass notification, meaning he is no longer allowed on the Shell station’s property. If he does return to the scene, he will be arrested for trespassing.
The woman in the residence with him, the former Shell employee, stated she was unaware the theft had occurred and was not cited.
All this over one half-gallon bottle of Kirkland vodka, valued at $13.99.
Compiled by Teddy Rydquist