Cash trail: A burglar left a trail of cash outside after breaking into the Mercer Island Thrift Store during the night on Jan. 4, 2010. $560 in currency was stolen from a safe after the burglar broke a side window, placed a chair underneath and climbed inside.

Tempting ribs: A Seattle man stole rib eye roasts from Albertsons on Jan. 19. A witness saw the suspect place the meat into a duffel bag and leave without paying. Police found the meat in some bushes a few blocks away and arrested the man, who was suspected of several previous shoplifting incidents.

Yogurt bomb: After hearing a container of some sort hit his front window on Jan. 30, a Mercer Island man discovered a hole in the top of the window and yogurt splattered on the glass. The estimated damage was $3,000.

Sleepy suspect: Police found a Mercer Island man passed out in the driver’s seat at the scene of a two-car accident on Feb. 22 on 81st Place S.E. where a vehicle struck a parked car. The suspect was found asleep with his engine running and the key in the ignition. The car was blocking the roadway. After waking up, the man admitted to drinking the night before. He failed standard field sobriety tests and was released to his sober brother after being arrested.

Greedy teens: Two teenagers were caught at night in the act of stealing a TV from a residence on Forest Avenue S.E. The homeowner called police after hearing noises in her house on March 7, and both suspects fled the scene as police arrived. They were located by a K9 and Harbor 6 team and were booked into King County Juvenile Detention after being interviewed by detectives. Various other stolen items were recovered.

Drifting: A Mercer Island man, 20, drifted onto the shoulder of West Mercer Way and crashed into two parked cars on May 15. The impact pushed both vehicles into a ditch, and one car was pushed up onto a Bobcat tractor bucket. The driver’s car lost a front tire and he drove home on the metal wheel, leaving marks on the asphalt that enabled police to follow him. The man then left his residence in his mother’s car. When he returned, he admitted to police that he had caused the destruction and attributed his lack of control to a head injury, which caused him to “not think straight.”

Dealer down: Police responded to a call of “someone being run over by a car” on June 4 at 5:30 p.m. on Island Crest Way. A drug dealer allegedly jumped onto the hood of a car occupied by four teenagers who had stolen drugs. The car was waiting at a stoplight during a car chase, and the dealer fell off and was likely hit. Police detained one individual who ran from the scene, with the three others, all ages 15 and 16. They admitted to “coming to Mercer Island to buy drugs.” The dealer was not located. Police found 15.26 grams of marijuana in the vehicle.

Midnight contractor: A teenager, 19, hid in a yard after stealing a box of pre-mixed wall texture out of a garage on 79th Avenue S.E. on July 15. As MIPD and Bellevue K9 units closed in on him, he fled from his hiding place. A short chase ensued before he was taken into custody and treated at the scene for minor “road rash” injuries sustained during the chase and capture. He was booked into the King County Jail for burglary and theft.

Driver in denial: Police stopped a vehicle for driving in the wrong lane of travel on North Mercer Way after midnight on Sept. 3. A strong odor of marijuana was evident. Kirkland K95 arrived with a drug-sniffing dog who “alerted” on all four doors of the car. The vehicle, which had one passenger, was impounded on a pending search warrant. Police recovered marijuana in a bag on the driver’s side floorboard and a silver box in the trunk.

Choosy thieves: A Mercer Island woman left her garage door open while she went grocery shopping on Sept. 10 on the south end, and two bottles of champagne and a bottle of cherry liquor were stolen out of the garage refrigerator. When she returned, her 13-year-old son told her that two men had entered the garage and helped themselves.

Careless readers: A Mercer Island Library employee discovered $195 in cash in a returned library book on Oct. 10. The cash was turned over to the MIPD and placed into found property. Several weeks later, on Oct. 30, a library employee found three $20 bills in a pile of leaves in the library parking lot.

Clean felon: Police found a Mercer Island man, 23, hiding in a shower at a residence on 72nd Avenue S.E. during the afternoon on Oct. 20. He was arrested on a Seattle Police Department $1,000 outstanding felony warrant for possessing “dangerous drugs” and alcohol. The suspect’s father had given permission to MIPD officers to search the residence for the suspect, but denied that the son was present.

Determined drinker: After being refused alcohol by a north-end QFC employee on Dec. 6, a Mercer Island man, 50, drove over a curb, struck a light pole and garbage receptacle, and continued driving away. Four witnesses at the scene gave police a description of the suspect, his license plate and vehicle, a Volkswagen Jetta. Police found the suspect leaving the Albertsons parking lot without headlights or tail lights. He failed field sobriety tests and was arrested at 12:57 a.m.