Police sorted out the stories of two people over a gun and a tool theft Thursday and took no one to jail.
Officers responded to the 200 block of Joshua Street to two separate calls from the same address at about 8:50 p.m.
A woman told them that she paid a man $250 to handle some work in her yard and he began the work, made a mess and never finished.
She said he refused to refund part of the money she had paid him.
She said that as they were arguing, he took some sort of pill and washed it down with beer. That frightened her because she didn’t know what he was taking and feared he would harm her.
She went into the house and retrieved her .32-caliber pistol, she said, and put it in her pocket.
When she went back outside, he began yelling at her and she took the gun out of her pocket and told him to get out of her yard.
She said she now realizes that while the man was in her backyard, $10,000 worth of tools went missing from her tool shed.
The man was waiting down the street for the officer. He said she chased him around the yard with the gun, and he jumped over the fence to escape.
He said his circular saw was still in her yard, and he wanted it.
The officer retrieved the saw for the man. The officer believed the 65-year-old woman did not chase the man with the gun and that she was within her rights to fetch it because she was afraid of the man. He turned the case over to detectives for further investigation.
Other reports
500 block of Simmons Street — Officers responding to a report of loud music early Friday saw cars lining a street and a large number of people streaming out of a backyard. When they entered the yard, they saw about 150 people dancing to extremely loud music.
The officers entered the house and found several people inside, along with marijuana in several places. They arrested five people on various charges at the house.
1400 block of Ryan Road — An officer on patrol after 10 p.m. Thursday noticed a car parked at the dog park with three men inside but no dog and a strong smell of marijuana emanating from the windows.
City ordinance precludes anyone being in parks after 10 p.m., so the officer investigated. She found marijuana inside the car and arrested two of its occupants.
2400 block of Interstate 35E — A woman reported a theft after two employees helped her carry out several items she bought at a resale store about 2 p.m. Thursday.
She said she was putting merchandise in the truck and one of the employees was putting a plant stand in the front seat.
After she left, she checked her handbag, which was in the front seat, and realized that a bottle containing 25 tablets of morphine was missing. The officer questioned the employees, and they denied any knowledge of the theft. An investigation is continuing.
7900 block of V Ranch Road, unincorporated Denton County — A woman reported Thursday that sometime after Sunday night, someone shot and killed one of her horses.
The woman said her husband found the 6-year-old buckskin paint horse, worth $25,000, which had died from a gunshot wound from a small-caliber firearm.
Roundup
From 7 a.m. Thursday to 7 a.m. Friday:
• Denton police handled 340 service and officer-initiated calls, including four thefts, two reports of credit card abuse, one report of debit card abuse, one report of a person with a gun, two cases of possession of marijuana, one case of harassment, one illegal dump, one fraud, one vehicle burglary and three cases of criminal mischief.
• Denton County sheriff’s dispatchers handled 695 service and officer-initiated calls for the agencies they serve. Thirty-one people were booked into county jail. Deputies took reports of one theft, one threat and one case of animal cruelty.
• Denton firefighters responded to 13 medical calls, one traffic accident, one request to assist an invalid, one smoke investigation and one request to assist police.
Argyle firefighters responded to one alarm, three medical calls, one grass fire and two traffic accidents.
Aubrey firefighters responded to three medical calls, one assault and three hazardous materials incidents.
Double Oak firefighters responded to one smoke investigation.
Krum firefighters responded to one medical call.
Lake Cities firefighters responded to two alarms, two medical calls, one missing person and one traffic accident.
Oak Point firefighters responded to one medical call.
Pilot Point firefighters responded to one medical call.
Sanger firefighters responded to one traffic accident.
DONNA FIELDER can be reached at 940-566-6885. Her e-mail address is dfielder@dentonrc.com .
Denton County Crime Stoppers will pay a reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest in these or other crimes. Callers will remain anonymous. Call 1-800-388-TIPS (8477). Reach the Denton police narcotics tip line at 940-565-5801.
