from recent Savannah/Chatham Police incident reports

Savannah-Chatham Metro Police are warning motorists not to leave running vehicles unattended. On one of the coldest days of the year, four people had their vehicles stolen.

In addition to a stolen car, you might end up with a fine of $124.

The thefts occurred in a span of one hour from various parts of the city. Police say each theft was 100 percent preventable.

There usually is a spike in auto theft cases as cars are stolen from driveways and city streets when temperatures drop. Police are reminding motorists to take their keys, lock the doors and don’t leave cars idling in the driveway.

• Police were called to a Perth Street home in reference to a fight in progress. Upon arrival, an officer spoke with a distraught woman standing in the street, crying. She said she and her live-in boyfriend were out at a local club, and he became too intoxicated to drive, so they walked home.

The victim said his behavior in the club was attracting negative attention. On the walk home, she said the suspect began to argue with her over the fact that she hasn’t gotten a divorce from her estranged husband. The woman said the suspect knew about her situation when they became involved, but it still becomes an issue from time to time. When they got home, the situation began to escalate and the victim said the suspect began beating her, choking her and trashing their house.

She said the suspect disabled the house phone by throwing it across the room onto the floor. While the victim was on the couch, she managed to get her cell phone and placed it down her shirt.

The suspect kept her confined in the house for about 30 minutes by blocking the door and refusing to let her leave. She finally managed to get outside by pleading with him to let her go outside so she could cool off and get some fresh air.

When they were outside, the victim took the opportunity and ran, trying to get to her father’s house, which is near by. As she ran, she called police from her hidden cell phone.

The suspect began chasing her and was threatening he was going to kill her. He managed to grab her by the hair and was hitting her from behind.

A passerby was driving by and saw the suspect hitting the victim. She knows the victim and stopped to assist her.

The suspect went back to their residence and the witness gave the victim a ride to wait for police. She remained on the scene and waited for officers to arrive to tell them she saw the victim running away from the suspect and saw him attacking her from behind, pulling her hair and hitting her.

The victim had visible scratches all over her, but refused to have EMS summoned. Police met with the suspect as he left the residence.

He told them he was “just gonna leave.” He was clearly intoxicated to the point that he stated the victim put his shirt on him while he was asleep, and said he didn’t do anything wrong. The suspect insisted he was asleep the whole time.

• Police were called to East Broad Street in reference to a rape. An officer met with the woman. She had some personal belongings with her, including a bag of clothes she had worn the night before.

She said she walked to a residence on Abercorn Street to visit some friends. She said she stays with them occasionally and had planned to do so again.

After going to the house, she went to visit a friend on 37th Street. She only knows the friend’s first name and couldn’t provide an address for him.

The victim said she owed her friend $5 and was going there to pay him back. She said she left her friend’s apartment and began walking north on Whitaker Street when someone came up behind her and put a hand over her mouth.

The suspect told her to be quiet and pulled her a short distance away and pushed her to the ground. He then put his hands over her eyes and got on top of her.

The victim described the surroundings as being between or behind two houses. After the rape, the suspect ran from the scene and she returned to Abercorn Street to her friends’ apartment.

At the apartment, the victim apologized to her friends for being so late and then showered and went to sleep. She said she didn’t report the incident because of past experiences with the police when this had happened to her before.