Euphemism of the day: 'romantic liaison'

A Wyomissing police officer spotted some movement in a car about 12:25 a.m. Feb. 27 parked in a hotel parking lot in the 1700 block of Paper Mill Road in the borough. The officer discovered the occupants were a man and woman who worked at a nearby restaurant. They were, in the officer's words, "engaged in a romantic liaison."

Use your imagination.

Police told them to find a different location. The report didn’t indicate if the couple availed themselves of the hotel next to the parking lot they used for their tryst.

Teen hospitalized after smoking 'unknown substance'

A teenage boy started acting aggressively toward other people in a home about 6:26 p.m. Feb. 17 in the 400 block of Sycamore Road in West Reading – more aggressively than teenage boys tend to get, apparently. The others feared for their safety and called police. Officers took the boy to the Reading Hospital emergency room and called his mother.

Tip: Real callers from Publishers Clearing House probably don't make threats

A Wyomissing man got a call about 4 p.m. Jan. 19 at his home in the 900 block of Woodland Road from a man claiming to be from Publishers Clearing House. The caller lost all credibility when he threatened to shoot the man. The resident called police, who traced the caller's location to Jamaica.

Burglary suspect caught with tools of the trade

A man walking through a Wyomissing neighborhood about 12:49 a.m. Oct. 29 caught the attention of borough police. It may have been the eight filed-down keys, center punch, screwdriver and set of 26 different car keys. Police stopped the suspect in the 1400 block of Delaware Avenue. After a background check unveiled multiple convictions for theft, burglary and auto-related theft charges, they arrested the suspect, a 46-year-old Reading man, and charged him with possessing instruments of crime and prowling at night. He was jailed in lieu of $50,000 bail.

Wyomissing residents call police about mistakenly suspicious vehicles

A Wyomissing police officer spotted a suspicious vehicle about 1:02 a.m. Sept. 5 in a parking lot off Parkside Drive South in the borough. The occupants, the officer said, were "just talking." But the driver only had a junior license. Her father asked that she be permitted to drive home, where he would handle discipline.

In other not-really-suspicious news:

• A woman called Wyomissing police about 2:35 a.m. Sept. 5 when a sport utility vehicle pulled into the driveway of her home in the first block of Hillside Road and stayed there for several minutes. It was actually the woman's daughter being dropped off by her boyfriend. 
• A woman walking her dog about 3:31 a.m. Sept. 5 in the first block of Timberline Drive spotted a small dark vehicle driving slowly down the street, turning around in the cul-de-sac and creeping past her home. She called police, who stopped the vehicle. The driver was delivering newspapers.

Police check on senior citizen, find two drug suspects instead

A case worker for the Office of Aging called Wyomissing police about 12:45 p.m. Aug. 30 to check on one of her clients, who lives in the 1200 block of Delaware Avenue in the borough. At the home, police found instead two men with drugs on them. They arrested both men, a 23-year-old and a 47-year-old, both from Laureldale.

The suspects were charged with possession of drug paraphernalia, while the younger man was also charged with drug possession. Both were jailed in lieu of $10,000 bail each.

Pranksters hit two homes in Wyomissing

A woman called Wyomissing police about 10:46 a.m. Sept. 2 after someone had smeared Mexican food on her daughter's car in the 1500 block of Cleveland Avenue in the borough. Police told her to monitor social media sites to see if any of the guilty fess up.

If you thought that was bad …

A Wyomissing resident suffered a much worse prank the same day. About 12:47 a resident of the 1100 block of Old Mill Road found poop -- not from a dog -- and toilet paper on the home's porch.

Texting error becomes police matter in Wyomissing

A 12-year-old girl who lives in Wyomissing received text messages from a man she didn't know. Her parent told police the matter began as a misunderstanding but the texts from the man became verbally abusive. Police called the suspected texter about 10:52 p.m. Aug. 8. He wouldn't identify himself but did identify his lawyer to police, who determined the man sounded drunk.

CORRECTION: Wyomissing police charge suspects in copper theft

Wyomissing police received a tip about 8:24 a.m. Aug. 6 of suspicious activity at the railroad tracks near the Park Road bridge, in the 100 block of Park Road North in the borough. They found a group of people trying to steal copper from the property, owned by Norfolk Southern Railroad. Three suspects were arrested, but police charged two so far: a 25-year-old Alburtis, Pa., man and a 22-year-old Reading man. Each was charged with theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property and defiant trespass, and jailed in lieu of $50,000 bail.

An earlier story said one man had been charged.

Communication breakdown with child brings police response

A 6-year-old boy thought his mother had left their house about 5:04 p.m. July 18 in the 1900 block of Cambridge Avenue in Wyomissing to go to the borough pool. So he set out to walk there, sans shoes. Police picked the boy up and took him home, where his parents arrived moments later. Mom hadn't gone to the pool; she went to pick up the boy's father from work. The parents assured the officer the boy wouldn't go wandering again.

Pranksters strike Wyomissing home

A Wyomissing woman called police about 9:54 p.m. July 15 after falling victim to a prank. Someone put a small black bag filled with sand on the steps of her home in the 1200 block of Reading Boulevard. Officers said the bag probably came from a construction site on a nearby block and returned it there. No word on whether the pranksters were ever found.

Son and his wanted girlfriend unwanted in woman's house

A Wyomissing woman called police after her son came to her home about 10 a.m. June 17 in the 800 block of Spring Street in Wyomissing. He was there to get some of his stuff, and while the mom had no problem with his appearance, she didn’t like the fact that he brought his girlfriend with him. She described the girlfriend as "trouble" -- in this case, defined as having eight active warrants and being wanted on a theft charge. The man and his belle left after a brief argument, taking off in a taxi before police arrived.

Dog ownership has its benefits

A woman went to a Wyomissing home about 3:15 p.m. June 7 in the 1300 block of Girard Avenue to ask the homeowner for a bottle of water, claiming she was dehydrated. A short time later, a second woman came to the door, asking for a paper bag. (Maybe they were going to do a magic trick.) The homeowner opted to get his dog instead of water or a paper bag, and the women left.

Man not dead, just fishing

Reading police called their counterparts in West Reading to report a body lying along the banks of the Schuylkll River, south of the Bertolet Fishing Dock in the borough. Officers discovered the man wasn't dead, just looking for a place to fish.

Abandoned bag causes worry at Wyomissing bank

Shortly before 9 a.m. April 19, employees at a bank in the 800 block of Penn Avenue in Wyomissing noticed a large blue bag between the building's entrance and the ATM. The threat fizzled when the bag's owner, a woman who was waiting for the bank to open came to pick it up right before police arrived. She told officers the bus dropped her off at the bank before it opened and she decided to go for a brief walk, leaving her bag behind. She apologized for inadvertently causing a scare.

Man waives preliminary hearing on lewdness charges

A 43-year-old West Reading man faces a possible trial on charges he masturbated in a coin-op laundry in the borough. Several women reported seeing the suspect in October in a laundry facility in the first block of South Sixth Avenue, fondling himself in front of them. In one case, he also took a pair of women's underwear out of a dryer.

The suspect waived his preliminary hearing Nov. 4. He still faces charges of open lewdness, theft and receiving stolen property, and remains free on $10,000 bail.

Occupants in vehicle not suspicious, just amorous

A Wyomissing police officer spotted a vehicle parked about 9:21 a.m. Oct. 26 behind a movie theater in the 800 block of Berkshire Boulevard in the borough. The officer found two occupants "sharing a(n) early morning moment together." The pair, both Penn State University freshmen, were identified and sent on their way.

Report of shots fired in West Reading turns out to be unfounded

Neighbors called police about 7:40 p.m. Oct. 9 after hearing what sounded like either gunshots or fireworks in the 400 block of Oak Terrace in West Reading. The police officer who responded saw some fireworks in the air shortly before receiving the call. When he checked the area he couldn't find any evidence of either gunshots or fireworks.

Hitchhiker has minor run-in with West Reading police

A man came from Lebanon, Pa., to Reading earlier this month in search of painting work. About 10 p.m. Oct. 8, after an unsuccessful couple of days he decided it was time to head home. So he stood on an onramp to the Penn Street Bridge when a West Reading police officer spotted him. The officer checked the man for warrants (he was clean) and told him to stand on the sidewalk portion of the Penn Street bridge, "preferably on Reading's side."

Borough blames man for broken branches; he blames kids

A resident of the 1100 block of Wayne Avenue called police about 1:51 p.m. Aug. 27 when he suspected some kids were breaking off tree branches near Happy Hollow playground. Police confronted the suspected vandals and they said they didn't break the limbs; they were just building a fort. The man called police because the borough had blamed him for branches and rocks in the road.