LAKE MENDOTA DRIVE
Fraud
An 84-year-old Madison woman became the target of an attempted phone scam on July 10, according to a Madison Police Department report.
The report said over the course of two phone calls, one caller pretended to be the grandson of the victim’s neighbor, saying he was in Los Angeles for a wedding and had been arrested for drunken driving. He did not want his parents or grandparents to find out.
A second caller identified himself as the grandson’s “lawyer” and indicated $9,200 was needed for bail. The victim refused to pay, and she later learned her neighbor’s grandson was in Madison.
MPD spokesperson Joel DeSpain said phone scams generally target people “in their eighties” and usually have some familiarity with the family.
MONROE STREET
Weapons violation
A 23-year-old hotel manager got into a dispute with a motorcyclist early in the morning July 10 that concluded with the biker raising a handgun to the sky without firing, an MPD report said.
The cyclist stopped at the intersection of Regent Street and Monroe Street, just outside HotelRED, with his engine revving loudly, the report said. It said the manager came to the window, shrugged his shoulders and when the revving did not stop, pointed his middle finger at him.
The biker then flashed his weapon before driving off down Monroe.
STATE STREET AND JOHNSON STREET
Exposure
Police arrested a 26-year-old Madison man the morning of July 9 after he was seen masturbating in public on two occasions, according to an MPD report.
At about 8:40 a.m., a 34-year-old Portage woman witnessed Joshua R. Kann masturbating at Johnston Street and Marston Avenue. He was arrested shortly after 9:00 a.m, the report said.
It said police later received another similar report which occurred on State Street between 7-7:30 a.m. Video surveillance confirmed it was the same suspect.
EAST WASHINGTON AVENUE
Check Person
According to a MPD report, an 85-year-old Madison woman was hospitalized for what appeared to be heat-related problems after being found unresponsive on her bathroom floor.
The victim, who lives alone in a second-floor apartment with no air conditioning, did not answer phone calls or the doorbell when her 53-year-old caretaker tried to contact her, the report said.
Knowing the woman was not very mobile and had no family involved in her life, the caretaker alerted police.
“That woman likely saved her life,” DeSpain said.
WEST GORHAM STREET
Battery
A 21-year-old Madison man suffered cuts and bruises after being beaten by two men late July 7, an MPD report said.
According to the report, witnesses said the two suspects knocked the victim to the ground and proceeded to punch and kick him. A 24-year-old woman yelled at the attackers, helping to end the attack. The attackers could not be immediately located, the report said.
The victim informed police he knew one of the suspects and they are involved in a feud over a woman, according to the report.
NORTH FRANCES STREET
Death Investigation
A 37-year-old man was found dead on a sidewalk the morning of July 6, according to an MPD report.
No signs of foul play were discovered, and an autopsy will determine the cause of death, the report said. The body was found shortly after 7 a.m.
LANGDON STREET
Injured Person
A 23-year-old man was listed in critical condition the morning after falling from the fourth-floor balcony of his home, according to an MPD report.
A half-hour after he was last seen on the balcony in the early morning of July 6, a housemate heard two loud thuds. The victim was then found on concrete approximately 30 feet below the balcony, according to the report.
DeSpain said the victim and his colleagues had consumed some alcohol, but the injured man was not intoxicated. He also said the balcony had no railing.
“As people were heading inside [from the balcony], at least one of them warned him not to fall asleep out there, that he could roll off,” DeSpain said.
NORTH FRANCES STREET
Robbery
Police arrested a 26-year-old man wearing only red boxer shorts and sneakers shortly after he ditched the clothing he had stolen by threat of a weapon, an MPD report said.
According to the report, a 23-year-old downtown resident met Quincy T. Franklin at 1:30 a.m., July 3, on State Street. Due to extreme heat, the victim allowed the homeless suspect to sleep in his air-conditioned apartment.
The next morning, the victim offered the man some clothes, but Franklin insisted he take clothing that was not specifically offered. He revealed a multi-tool and began swearing at the victim, the report said.
After Franklin had left the building and the authorities were notified, the suspect removed the clothing and waited for police. He believed he committed no crime, the report said.
DeSpain said the city had previously opened cooling shelters for homeless people to use.
WEST DAYTON STREET
Battery
A 52-year-old homeless man suffered two punches to the face after declining to give beer to a stranger, according to an MPD report.
After arriving on a bus from South Dakota, the victim sat down in a park to eat lunch. The suspect then approached him, asking for a beer, the report said.
It said one punch knocked the victim to the ground, and he was eventually hospitalized for minor injuries. The stranger walked away as the victim asked a citizen to call 911.
