Solon Police Find Vodka Bottles, a Loaded Handgun and a Counterfeit Check Scheme

Drivers from across Northeast Ohio landed in Solon Jail this week after a string of traffic stops and calls. Two men face drunk driving charges, and an 18-year-old from Cleveland is charged with a felony after police found a loaded pistol in his car. A Solon resident also reported losing thousands of dollars to fake checks. Here is a closer look at each case. Criminal Trespassing Woman Cited After Second Visit to Ex-Husband’s Driveway in One Day (Oct. 16) Surveillance video tipped off a Solon man that his ex-wife was at his Flanders Drive home late Friday morning. He called police at 11:27 a.m. after seeing her black Nissan in the driveway. By the time officers pulled up, the car had left. Hours later, at 6:37 p.m., the 55-year-old called back. His ex-wife had returned. Officers arrived and found her still sitting in the driveway. Police records showed she had already been warned on Aug. 21 for a similar incident. The woman said she came to pick up her children. Her ex-husband told officers she does not have custodial rights. Officers cited the 47-year-old Cleveland woman for criminal trespassing, a fourth-degree misdemeanor. She was released and drove away from the property. Fraud Copied Check Leads to $3,300 in Fake Deposits (Oct. 14) One old check was all it took. A 60-year-old Solon man told police Wednesday afternoon that someone appears to have copied a check he once wrote for a payment. From that copy, five counterfeit checks were created and drawn on his account. Each was made payable to one of three people he had never heard of. Every check was deposited using a mobile banking app. The total loss came to $3,300. His bank shut down the account. To get his money back, he needed a police report on file. Detectives are now looking into the case. Firearms Teen Driver Tells Officer About Gun After Stop for Plate Light (Oct. 15) A burned out license plate light led to a felony arrest early Thursday. Just after midnight, an officer pulled over a silver Ford Taurus heading west on Solon Road near Aurora Road. The officer smelled what he suspected was marijuana while talking with the driver. Asked whether there were weapons in the car, the 18-year-old said yes. He also told the officer he had smoked marijuana roughly three hours earlier. Inside the center console, police found a loaded semi-automatic pistol. A clear bag of suspected marijuana was also recovered. Officers seized both. According to the driver, the gun belonged to his brother, who shares the car. Nobody else was riding with him. The Cleveland teen was arrested and booked into Solon Jail. He is charged with improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle, a fourth-degree felony. Police also charged him with marijuana possession, a minor misdemeanor because he is under 21. For the plate light, he got a warning. The Taurus was towed. Operating a Vehicle Under the Influence Chagrin Falls Man Found Passed Out in Running SUV at Gas Station (Oct. 12) Someone passing by the Sheetz on Aurora Road Monday night noticed a man who appeared unconscious inside a parked vehicle. Police got the call at 10:59 p.m. Officers located the Toyota RAV4 with its engine running and a man in the driver’s seat. After waking him, they asked what happened. He said he drove there and pulled over to take a phone call. His speech was slow, and his eyes looked glossy and bloodshot. Officers could smell alcohol inside the SUV. Field sobriety tests did not go well for him. Police arrested the 49-year-old and took him to Solon Jail. Because he refused a breath test, his license was put under administrative suspension. He is charged with OVI. The tow added more to the story. An officer found a Monster energy drink in the cupholder that smelled like alcohol. Tucked in a paper bag were several sealed airline-sized bottles of vodka. Ravenna Driver Blames Caramel Apple Shots After .141 Breath Test (Oct. 18) Speed caught an officer’s attention early Sunday. A silver Cadillac sedan was moving about 45 mph in a 25 mph zone on SOM Center Road, just south of the U.S. 422 exit ramp. The car then turned east onto Aurora Road and crossed outside the marked lanes. That is when the officer made the stop. Asked if he had been drinking, the driver admitted to three “caramel apple pucker shots” at a Cleveland bar. Bloodshot eyes and slurred speech were noted. His field sobriety tests went poorly. At Solon Jail, the 25-year-old blew a .141 blood alcohol concentration. That is well over Ohio’s .08 legal limit. His license was suspended. He faces two first-degree misdemeanors: OVI and prohibited BAC. Four minor misdemeanors were added for speeding, improper display of plates, marked lanes and open container. Before the Cadillac was towed, officers pulled two empty, open tequila bottles from inside.