Crime Blotter: $3.5 Million Prize a Scam, Catalytic Converter Snatched, Pole Barn Fire

Multi-million win leads to $400 loss

A Chesterfield Township man lost hundreds of dollars after a con artist claimed the resident won $3.5 million, police said.

On March 20, the man received a phone call from someone pretending to be a Publishers Clearing House representative. The caller told him that he won $3.5 million and would need to buy a $400 Green Dot PayPal card but not to scratch off the authorization code, according to the police report.

The man bought it, only to find out there was no prize and the $400 had been removed from the card, police said.

Loud engine sounds signs of theft

A Chesterfield Township resident reported the catalytic converter on her vehicle had been stolen last month, according to police.

The woman told police March 17 her engine sounded extremely loud. It had been parked under a carport since March 11 on Central Village Road, the report stated.

Police found that the part had been removed from the car.

Electric heating unit sparks fire in barn

A pole barn caught fire around 11 p.m. March 16 on 26 Mile in Chesterfield, according to police.

A neighbor notified the property owner of the fire that started in a hutch attached to the barn that contained one rabbit. The hutch was completely burned and the flames spread to the barn, the report states.

Another pet rabbit in an adjourning hutch was saved from the fire. Township firefighters put out the blaze and there was no evidence of arson, police said.

For more information on this blotter, contact christy.arboscello@patch.com.