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Bedford Bear is Back & Man Passed Out with a Sex Toy: Best of the Blotter

Here are some of the weirdest police reports and incidents from departments across the region

Here are this week's most bizarre police calls, reports and charges. All information was provided by police reports from departments in Patch communities. Where arrests or charges are mentioned, it does not indicate a conviction.

Guess who's back — A Solon resident returned from a camping trip to find a large intruder — the Bedford Bear.

She saw the region's most famous bear wandering around her small farm a week ago and sent a few photos, route: {:controller=>"articles", :action=>"show", :id=>"bedford-bear-caught-on-camera-in-solon"} --> to her local Patch site. After taking the pictures, she saw it cross Brainard Road.

People in Solon, Bedford and Warrensville Heights have reported bear sightings for the past month. The six-foot-tall bear Sept. 4 near a Solon apartment complex.

What's in his lap? — A Stoney Ridge Road resident contacted Avon Police Sept. 9 after seeing a passed out man in white BMW that was partially parked in her garage.

When officers arrived, they and a "sexual device" in his lap. His engine was still running.

The homeowner did not know the man. Police said he had fresh scuff marks on the passenger-side window and a knocked-off mirror.

The man was transported to EMH's Avon Emergency Care Center. He was eventually charged with a carrying a concealed weapon violation.

Arrested for huffing — arrested a woman last week shortly after she passed out on a frozen yogurt shop's patio.

Melissa Primer, 33, of Solon, is accused of abusing a harmful intoxicant, a first-degree misdemeanor. Police said she huffed a can of pressurized air before passing out at the Aurora Road business.

Primer woke up by the time officers arrived on the scene.

No-contest plea in Cold Stone case — A Painesville man pleaded no contest to aggravated menacing Monday in Mentor Municipal Court after police say he threatened to shoot a man with his pants down.

A man saw 21-year-old Michael Spalsbury urinating outside Cold Stone Creamery in Mentor and decided to honk his horn. Angered by the honk, Spalsbury reached behind his back to signal that he was reaching for a gun.

Then he approached the passenger window of the man's car and threatened to shoot him in front of his 12-year-old son, who was seated in the passenger seat, police said. Spalsbury the left. Police later arrested him at his home.

He faces up to six months in jail.

Happy slugger — A woman is accused of punching a man outside Walmart in Fairlawn after he tried to prevent her from hurting an older woman.

"I'm happy I did it," the suspect said,

Jeff H September 16, 2012 at 11:56 am
I think you need to change the headline. It reads as if a bear was found passed out with a sex toy in its possession.
Darci Kracht September 16, 2012 at 12:33 pm
I think they did that on purpose.
44RoN September 16, 2012 at 01:13 pm
Got me curious too. Effective in bringing in traffic but DECEPTIVE. I get useful news out of Patch but this one was outright DISTASTEFUL.
Gale s September 16, 2012 at 01:18 pm
Bedford bear is back and passed out with a sex toy???? Who is writing the captions of these stories?? The big question is - huh???
Ric Flair September 16, 2012 at 01:35 pm
That's as good as the headline in the Plain Dealer today: "Previous Experience Necessary for Ballet Instructors." I guess even professional journalists can make mistake.
Noreen September 16, 2012 at 01:46 pm
Not only is the headline distasteful, the entire story is. This isn't news. I'm beginning to think the Patch is run by 15 year olds.
lori brautigam September 16, 2012 at 01:53 pm
Sounds like a headline from Star magazine. : (
Dale Ferrell September 16, 2012 at 01:59 pm
Yes, I agree. I think they blew it with this one. They should atleast admit it with a simple apology. Nothing more. TASTELESS
chuck d September 16, 2012 at 02:26 pm
This newspaper has a reputation for misleading storylines. Maybe someone there will now listen.
babs September 16, 2012 at 02:33 pm
The headline was a bit off. But really people there is no need to be so offended by it. They didn't go into detail as to what kind of toy was in his lap. I think they were going for a little humor. Maybe even testing the waters to see how their readers would react.
babs September 16, 2012 at 02:44 pm
But what bugs me about reading your comments is that your more upset about the sex toy than you are about the gun.
Nunov Yorbisnis September 16, 2012 at 03:39 pm
You people are a bunch of whiners. If it was that distasteful, why click on the story at all? The Patch is awesome. Its totally free, you dont get newsprint on your hands and you dont have to leave the couch. Don't like? DONT READ IT!
Earl Elevant September 16, 2012 at 04:29 pm
I'm not sure there are any professional journalists left anymore.
Priscilla Smith September 16, 2012 at 08:39 pm
Eve, the headline was inaccurate. This is not about complaining, it is about making an observation of inaccuracy. It is healthy and helpful to request accuracy in journalism. Folks clicked on the story because of the fantastically sounding inaccurate headline. Sounds more like you are complaining about the others' comments - perhaps you need to skip them if they offend you. The headline states a bear is passed out with a sex toy, and that was not the case.
Randy McFarland September 16, 2012 at 09:20 pm
Come on ppl its a play on the words... notice the & (then capital leter) Passed out...... nothing to get all bent about. I thought it was entertaining.
lyn September 16, 2012 at 11:47 pm
Ha-Ha!
So, if the bear had passed out with the sex toy, all of you would not have been offended - as I see you all managed to find your way to this story and read it. But you are all offended because you are disappointed it was just some guy, and as someone else has said - no problem with him having the gun? Hypocrites!! You call it distasteful, yet you read it! OK if its a bear, not a man! OK if the man has a gun!
Barbara September 17, 2012 at 12:20 am
Someone should send this along to The David Letterman Show. The ampersand should have been a semi-colon. If you regularly read The Patch, you would know that each story is separated by the semi-colon. However, that does not bother me. What does bother me is the poor grammer used under the headlines "Happy slugger." I found 6 grammatical errors. I would expect more from our writers and editors of our local newspaper.
Barbara September 17, 2012 at 12:24 am
It is not hypocritical to expect accuracy.
lyn September 17, 2012 at 12:38 am
Barbara-
Yes, you are correct. But some of the people are being hypocritical in saying they are soooo offended.
Teresa K. September 17, 2012 at 02:24 am
I am very disappointed with the headline.
karen Bellian September 17, 2012 at 11:43 am
Obviously those who were upset with the heaadlines were upset cause they really did want the bear to be found with a sex toy in his lap otherwise why did you read the story I thought it was a great way for you to read the whole article cause I did no real harm done except I was forced to get informed. ABout my surroungs way to go
Kathi September 17, 2012 at 11:44 am
I thought the same thing.
Phospholipid September 17, 2012 at 11:54 am
Interestingly, since I've been readin headlines my whole life and I understand they have a unique syntactical convention, and since I've been reading police blotters my whole life and I know they are variety pieces, I wasn't confused at all. I knew it was a headline about two separate things. I suspect the same is true of the complainers; that they really knew. Or they're actually that simple. But, folks just love I get their panties in a bunch, especially over sex toys.
Brandon Baker (Editor) September 17, 2012 at 12:49 pm
Thanks for all of your comments. Though it would have made for a more interesting story, the Bedford Bear did NOT have a sex toy in his lap. Your suggestions were heard and the headline has been changed. Thanks again.
Lightnapper September 17, 2012 at 03:34 pm
@ Brandon. Strange Brew wouldn't you say? As a writer, I thank the good Lord for geographic relocation and conjunctions. Well, score one for the Ohio Prudes. And to think my East West Virginia mother, bless her dearly departed soul, used to handle snakes in an act of faith-- bears being too unpredictable. Personally, I preferred the relative safety of the Mogadore Methodists, the Fundamental Baptists of Tallmadge being too touchy-feely and a bit Apocalyptic scary. Alas, Patch never ceases to amaze me, or at least the pedantic commenters. Our L.A. bears just get tranquilized and relocated-- not edited and/or censored. West Hollywood bears are another story altogether. But then that's what TMZ is for-- and the numerous DUI celebrities. Enjoy your day. It's a scorcher here, almost as hot as that headline.
Teresa K. September 17, 2012 at 06:24 pm
@karen: i will speak for myself. i am upset that the headline totally disrespects the bear. we have all been following the bear- in- the- area stories all summer. for anyone to use that headline ( whether intended or not ) in connection to the bear is upsetting.
Teresa K. September 17, 2012 at 06:25 pm
the bear said "thanks". he didnt want anyone to get the wrong idea about him and he really didnt need that kind of publicity.
AMH September 20, 2012 at 02:01 pm
THANK YOU. What cracks me up is all the people that found it distasteful, yet clicked on it! Caught ya! LOL! News is news, folks. Sometimes it's life-altering, most times it's just 'interesting.' And what may be interesting to one person may not be for the other. You don't like it - then DONT READ IT.

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