Political Sign Thefts a Sign of the Times in Forest Hills

The political atmosphere this election season has been taken to the streets in Forest Hills with the theft of signs from residents' yards.

A resident of the 300 block of Overdale Road called Forest Hills police to report the theft of Obama signs from his yard on Oct. 28. The officer asked if the wind might have blown them away but the resident pointed out that none of the Republican signs were missing.

Just about an hour before that, a resident of the 100 block of Overdale Road called police to report that she had found several political signs in the roadway. She told police if anyone called about missing signs, they could go to her yard to get another one.

A resident of the 500 block of Filmore Road called police to report that between 10 p.m. Oct. 29 and 6:30 p.m. Oct. 30, someone has placed a political sign in his front yard near the sidewalk that said "Support Israel, Fire Obama." The resident asked police to document the incident.

A resident of the 400 block of Burlington Road reported on Oct. 27 that a political sign was taken from her front yard. The police report did not indicate which candidate was featured on the sign.

Oct. 31

• A woman called police to report that a Mastercard issued by First Commonwealth Bank in Forest Hills had been fraudulently used by someone with an IP (Internet provider) address in India for a Wal-Mart order to be sent to an address in Santa Ana, CA. While reviewing her statement, she had noticed a second fraudulent purchase from Wal-Mart. The woman placed a freeze on her accounts. 

• A man came to the station to report the theft of Comcast DVR boxes and Internet adapters from his house in the 300 block of Lenox Avenue.

Oct. 30

• While on patrol, an officer observed a man urinating in the front parking lot of 2040 Ardmore Blvd., in full view of motorists on the roadway and customers in Drew's Restaurant. The man, identified as Billy Gene Bradley, 35, of Turtle Creek, got into a Ford Tempo and exited the parking lot onto Ardmore. He was stopped in the Drew's parking lot and issued citations for disorderly conduct and driving with an expired inspection.

Oct. 29

• Police received a call from a resident who was concerned about a dog's welfare. The caller said the dog had been on the porch of a home in the 500 block of Halsey Avenue all day. Hoffman Kennels, the animal control service, was contacted. 

Oct. 27

• An officer on patrol saw a black Volkswagen turn onto Yost Boulevard from Ardmore Boulevard and observed that a front headlight was out. As the officer conducted a traffic stop, he observed marijuana seeds and stems in the far left dashboard console and smelled the strong odor of burnt marijuana coming from inside the vehicle. He removed the driver, Joshua Harrison, 25, of Pittsburgh, 15221, from the vehicle then requested that the passenger exit the vehicle. According to the police report, the woman became verbally combative with the officer, who observed an open container of beer on the floor of the passenger side. She was placed in custody. When he looked inside the vehicle, the officer observed a marijuana glass bowl sticking out of her purse. He recovered a small amount of marijuana, the bowl and a marijuana grinder from her purse. Harrison was charged with disorderly conduct, hazardous/physical offense and driving with no headlight. Charges have not yet been filed against the woman.

• A resident of the 2200 block of Ardmore Boulevard who works in downtown Pittsburgh said a co-worker was calling her cell phone and sending threatening texts infering she would come to her residence and "beat her up." An officer called the co-worker, who had a different version of the story. The officer advised both women to cease all phone contact and let Pittsburgh police handle the workplace complaints.

• Braddock Hills police requested that Forest Hills officers assist with setting up a perimeter for a foot pursuit of a man armed with a gun. During a track by a police K-9 dog, shots were fired but after a lengthy search, the man was not located.

• A resident of Centurion Commons reported that a man was possibly hunting in the area. An officer located the man and learned he was just walking in the woods to see if there were any deer in the area. The man had no hunting gear with him. 

• Forest Hills police assisted Braddock Hills officers with a smash-and-grab burglary at the Puff Discount Tobacco store in Braddock Hills Shopping Center. Police received information that the suspect might have been in the Shell gas station on Ardmore Boulevard.  Officers checked the area with no results. About a half an hour after the perimeter was discontinued, Forest Hills police arrested the man as he was walking on Ardmore Boulevard, according to police Chief Chuck Williams.

Oct. 26

• A woman told police that she was walking with her daughter when a dog came running at her, barking and lunging, in the 100 block of Marwood Avenue. An officer spoke with the dog owner.

Oct. 25

• An officer checked on a report of a barking dog in the 101 block of Sumner Avenue after a resident called and said the noise was keeping him from sleeping. The officer found no one home at the residence.

• Two officers responded to the 500 block of Atlantic Avenue for a dispute among neighbors over a car damaged by accident and the insurance company handling the claim. The officers advised the neighbors to let the insurance company deal with the issue.

• Shortly before 3 p.m., a man came to the police station with a man's black wallet he found on Ardmore Boulevard. The wallet had no identification but contained $20 cash and a number of photos of young children. One of the photos is a baseball card with a young African-American boy about 8 years old. 

• A Kenmore Avenue resident reported that a very small, green, child's bicycle had been stolen from a small landing in front of her home. The theft occurred between 9 p.m. Oct. 25 and 9 a.m. Oct. 26. The bicycle has orange training wheels and a numbered sign on the front handle bars.