A man told officers a story about playing basketball and visiting a friend in the hospital to try to escape arrest late Wednesday, but he had stolen property in his pocket and went to jail, according to a police re­port.

Officers responded to a burglary-in-progress call in the 2500 block of West Oak Street about 11:30 p.m. Two men were standing near a car with a broken window. One man said he was on his way home and noticed two men burglarizing his neighbor’s car. They ran when they saw him, he said, and he notified the victim.

The victim said he looked inside his broken window and saw that his stereo was half pulled out of the dash and his remote control was missing. The two men pointed out an unfamiliar car in the parking lot.

The officer checked the license plates of the mystery car and it showed to be owned by a Houston man. The officer noted the windows were rolled down, the key was in the ignition and a cellphone was lying on the console.

About that time, a car pulled up, dropped off a man and was driven away. The man walked over to the mystery car and started to get inside. The officer asked him what he was doing parked in the lot.

The man said he was playing basketball with a friend at a nearby apartment complex. When the officer asked why he didn’t park there, he said that complex towed cars without identification stickers.

He said he then learned that another friend was having a baby at a nearby hospital and he walked over to see her. He was low on gasoline, he said, so he left his car.

The officer found a remote control in the man’s pocket that the owner of the burglarized car said was his, according to the police report.

The suspect was charged with burglary of a motor vehicle.

Other reports

2200 block of South Loop 288 — An employee of a lingerie shop reported about 4 p.m. Tuesday that someone took about $4,000 worth of panties and bras from the store without anyone noticing.

The employee reported missing 45 pink bras, 12 pushup bras, 12 convertible bras, seven strapless bras and 100 pair of panties.

The officer noted that the store has been hit numerous times by lingerie thieves.

1000 block of North Texas Boulevard — Someone slashed a 12-foot advertising balloon about 4:40 a.m., according to a police report. The balloon was anchored in a pancake restaurant parking lot and had been rented for $2,500.

Roundup

From 7 a.m. Tuesday to 7 a.m. Wednesday:

* Denton police responded to 286 service and officer-initiated calls, including three vehicle burglaries, two reports of graffiti, four burglaries, one violation of a protective order, two debit card abuses, seven thefts, two reports of criminal mischief, one assault, two cases of possession of drug paraphernalia, one forgery, two cases of possession of marijuana, one suicidal person, one case of evading detention and one case of reckless driving.

* Denton County sheriff’s dispatchers handled 275 service and officer-initiated calls for the agencies they serve. Forty-nine people were booked into county jail. Deputies took reports of one violation of a protective order, one fight, one vehicle burglary, one building burglary and one assault.

* Denton firefighters responded to 15 medical calls, one gas leak, two requests to assist an invalid, two traffic accidents, one hazardous-materials incident, one report of a person trapped by power lines and one request to assist police.

Sanger firefighters responded to four medical calls, one patient transfer and one traffic accident.

Argyle firefighters responded to one medical call, one odor investigation and one gas leak.

Corinth firefighters responded to one animal bite, one water main break and two medical calls.

Aubrey firefighters responded to five medical calls, one odor investigation, one fire, one smoke investigation, one request to unlock a vehicle and one grassfire.

Pilot Point firefighters responded to one request to assist a citizen and one medical call.

Oak Point firefighters responded to one alarm.

Ponder firefighters responded to one vehicle fire and one medical call.

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).