Ann Arbor News POLICE BEAT

Man beaten at
after-work party
A gay man was severely beaten early today by two or three men who made anti-gay statements as they were punching and kicking him, Ann Arbor Police said.
The 21-year-old Canton man was at an after-work party in the 400 block of Felch Street at 1:45 a.m., reports said. He told police a few people who showed up at the party had a problem with him being gay, so they were asked to leave, reports said.
A 22-year-old Pittsfield Township woman said she asked one of the men as they were leaving if she could have a drag off his cigarette, and he spit and threw a beer at her, reports said. The victim said he walked over to defend the woman, and the man began attacking him while uttering gay slurs, reports said.
The victim likely had a broken nose and was taken to the University of Michigan Medical Center, reports said. He was unable to give a detailed description of the attackers, who left before officers arrived, reports said.
Police are attempting to identify the assailants.
Men point air pistol at sixth-grade girls
Ann Arbor Police confiscated an airsoft pistol after a man reportedly pointed it at three sixth-grade girls who were walking home from school Thursday afternoon, city police said.
The girls said they were walking in the 400 block of Ventura Court at 3:15 p.m. when two men ran from a home, and one pointed a gun at them, reports said. They believed the gun was real and ran home to tell their parents, police said.
Police went to the home and spoke to an 18-year-old Ann Arbor man and an 18-year-old Gregory man, reports said. They had an airsoft pistol that is a replica of a Beretta handgun and shoots plastic pellets, reports said.
Police are seeking charges of disorderly conduct.
Stranger attempts assault, takes phone
A 23-year-old Ann Arbor man said a man attempted to strike him with a beer bottle and stole his girlfriend's cell phone at an Ann Arbor bar late Thursday, city police said.
The man said he was at Damon's in the 3100 block of Boardwalk Drive at 11 p.m. when a stranger tried to hit him with a beer bottle, reports said. He said he blocked the bottle, and the attacker ran out with his girlfriend's cell phone, reports said.
Officers found the 31-year-old suspect at a nearby hotel, and he was arrested for felonious assault and larceny, police said.
Basement fire injures 1 in Ypsilanti
Ypsilanti fire investigators are looking into the cause of a fire that started in the basement of an apartment house this morning.
Firefighters were called at 1:40 a.m. to a house in the 300 block of West Cross Street. The fire was mostly contained to the basement, according to the report. An occupant in the basement was treated for smoke inhalation. First-floor residents got out of the house safely.
Damage was estimated at $6,000.
Robber takes money from gas station
Van Buren Township police are looking for the man who robbed a BP gas station at Rawsonville and Martz roads early Thursday.
Sgt. Greg Laurain said the clerk told police that a man went to the counter and selected a cigarette lighter. When she told the man how much the lighter cost, he jumped over the counter and told her to "stay back or I'll kill you," police reported. The man took money from the register then pushed the clerk into a rear room and told her to stay there, Laurain said. The clerk later called police.
The robber got away with $430.
Putnam Twp. home destroyed by blaze
A Putnam Township home was destroyed by fire early Thursday, officials said.
Firefighters responded to the 1600 block of East M-36 just before 7 a.m. and found the single-family residence engulfed in flames, said Assistant Chief Mark Coddington of the Putnam Township Fire Department.
No one was home at the time. The fire took nearly three hours to extinguish and the home was deemed a total loss, Coddington said.
The cause of the blaze remains undetermined and it was referred to the Michigan State Police for further investigation.
Firefighters from Hamburg Township, Howell, Dexter, Green Oak Township and Unadilla Township assisted.
Kitchen fire caused by unattended food
Dexter firefighters stopped a fire from destroying a house in Dexter Township on Wednesday night, officials said.
Firefighters responded to the 9000 block of Ann Court at about 9:30 p.m. and found the kitchen of a single-family residence ablaze, said Inspector Donald Dettling of the Dexter Area Fire Department.
Residents were evacuated when firefighters arrived and no one was hurt. Firefighters contained the blaze to the kitchen but no damage estimates were available Thursday. The cause of the fire appeared to be food left unattended on a stove.
News staff reporters Amalie Nash, Art Aisner, Tom Gantert and Liz Cobbs compiled this report.