Check of truck’s registration leads to arrest of man on rape, drug and weapon charges: Solon police blotter

SOLON, Ohio -

Warrant arrest: Liberty Road

At 11:15 p.m. Nov. 7, an officer checked the registration on a Dodge Ram truck. While the registration was valid, it was learned that the vehicle's owner was wanted on a Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Office warrant for rape.

In the truck, officers located three bags of marijuana, suspected psilocybin "magic" mushrooms, two cell phones, and a loaded semiautomatic pistol.

Also in truck was a 32-year-old Garfield Heights woman. The woman told police that she and the man were delivering DoorDash food. She was later released.

The driver, a Cleveland Heights man, 45, was arrested on charges of trafficking in drugs, a fourth-degree felony; having a weapon under disability, a third-degree felony; possession of criminal tools, a fifth-degree felony; and driving with a suspended license.

Theft: Aurora Road

At 12:45 p.m. Nov. 5, loss prevention at Giant Eagle, 34310 Aurora Road, watched as a man failed to scan items in the self-scan aisle.

When confronted, the man, 32, of Warrensville Heights, was compliant. The non-scanned items totaled $79.

Police charged the man with theft.

Email scam: Solon Road

At 1:15 p.m. Nov. 5, a 31-year-old Cleveland man went to the police station to report that he was the victim of an email scam. The man, a coach, said he received an email from someone he thought to be a known acquaintance. The email told of the need to buy gift cards for an end-of-season coaching get together.

The man purchased $2,000 worth of gift cards and relayed the numbers on the card to the scammer. He later heard from others in his coaching circle warning all not to fall for such a scam.

It appeared as if one of the coaches' email accounts had been hacked.

Police noted that such a scammer often uses an email address very similar to a known acquaintance to fool a victim.

OVI: Aurora Road

At 12:35 a.m. Nov. 7, the driver of a Kia vehicle stopped an officer in the 31000 block of Aurora Road to tell him that the driver of a black Ford pickup truck had tried to drive him off the road.

The officer saw the truck and tried to catch up with it as it headed southbound on S.O.M. Center Road, near Pettibone Road.

The officer noted that the truck was speeding, traveling 50 miles-per-hour in a 35-MPH zone. A traffic stop was conducted, and the truck driver, a Cleveland man, 54, was found to have slurred, mumbled speech and to smell of alcohol.

The driver failed field sobriety testing, but refused to take a breath test.

Police charged the man with OVI, failure to take a breath test with a prior OVI conviction on his record, speeding, and failure to use a turn signal.

The man said it was the driver of the Kia that had started the road rage incident. Police did not charge anyone for the traffic incident.

Domestic violence: Enterprise Parkway

At 9:30 a.m. Nov. 10, an Aurora woman, 22, reported that she had been struck by her boyfriend after meeting up with him in the parking lot of the Hampton Inn, 6035 Enterprise Parkway.

The man was upset with the woman and slapped her in the face.

She left the lot and drove to the Giant Eagle lot, 34310 Aurora Road, where she called police.

Police noted that the woman had visible injuries on her face, which she said had come from a prior incident involving the same man.

The woman, who is nine months pregnant with their child, said she did not want to press charges. Police, nonetheless, issued a warrant for her boyfriend's arrest on a fourth-degree felony charge of domestic violence.

Police are now seeking the 24-year-old from Maple Heights.