View from the cop: Crime & punishment
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AJC.com > Metro > View from the cop > Archives > 2005 > September > 25 > Entry
Zip it! Make it tough on pickpockets
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The pickpocket victim had dropped off a prescription at a Roswell Road discount store and then shopped for 30 minutes. When she returned to the druggist area, she discovered her wallet had been removed from her purse. There is no suspect.
It is best to minimize the stuff that you carry when shopping. Credit and debit cards are best secured in a front pants pocket. (Not back pocket.)
If you’re going to carry a purse:
A. Zip or snap it shut.
b. Strap it to the cart.
Sleeping on the job
A Roswell Road resident called police, telling them his neighbor called and wanted to meet him at the apartment community mailbox at 6 a.m. The man met his neighbor, who said he needed to borrow $500 to settle a poker debt. The neighbor said that if he didn’t pay the two men, who were standing nearby, they would kill him.
The complainant said he didn’t have $500. The neighbor left the complex with the two men and supposedly they were headed out to find an ATM machine.
The officer later found the neighbor. He said the two men forced him into the car and drove around the area, ending up over near Windsor Parkway.
The bad guys forced the man into a house, where the man was sure he was going to be in for a bad time. The victim said the two men fell asleep and he escaped.
All that work and they just fell asleep? This guy was indeed lucky. The part that we may or may not hear is that this guy will probably go right back to the apartment. Bevis and Butthead will show up again — and this time they might kill the guy. If he’s smart (and so far it isn’t looking good) he will either get the money or hit the road.
Witnesses say attack was malicious
A security guard was assaulted while she placed a boot on a car that was apparently illegally parked in an office park on Peachtree Dunwoody Road. According to witnesses, the woman knelt down to place the boot on the wheel when the driver of the car approached and kicked her in the head.
The security guard sustained a cut on her lip and a head injury. The driver of the car worked for a messenger service. He removed the boot and left.
The messenger company was contacted. It told the officer that the driver had been fired after he told them of the incident. The suspect was later found at his home and arrested on a warrant for battery. The hospitalized victim suffered a bruised brain.
She apparently does not recall the incident.
Other things:
— Someone entered a Feather Sound Court house by forcing open a back window. Some jewelry was taken and the upstairs bedroom areas were ransacked. (Don’t forget that burglars will head right upstairs and look (a.) in the bedroom dresser and (b.) in the bathroom vanity area for jewelry.)
— The suspect in an Old Alabama Road gas theft was in a gold, late model Lexus four-door. Male, mid-20s, 5’ 8”, wearing a tan polo shirt and light colored jeans. He left southbound on Jones Bridge Road at about 12:15 a.m. Notice that the gas crunch has given us an upgrade in suspect vehicle descriptions and more stylish suspect-clothing descriptions?
Comments
Commenting is now closed for this entry.
By Will Bevis
September 26, 2005 8:31 AM | Link to this
I am so sorry you felt the need to use Bevis and Butthead as names for two criminals. Bevis is an old english name that Mike Judge ruined by using it in his cartoon show. But there are many Bevis’ in this country who are law abiding citizens. Thank God your name Rose will always be associated with something beautiful. Except to me now, which I will always associate with mindless unfairness.
By Amanda
September 26, 2005 12:36 PM | Link to this
I disagree with your advice about how to avoid getting pickpocketed. Women should never hook their purses to their carts; thieves are looking for wallets and typically won’t take the entire handbag. Secondly, women should also avoid leaving their purses in the cart (I see this all the time at the super market and I wish I could say something to these women!) because thieves typically steal wallets while the women are turned away from their cart retrieving items. Never leave your purse out of arms reach and if you must put it in the cart, keep your hand close to the opening.
By J
September 26, 2005 12:36 PM | Link to this
Great column, lets start to track what criminal activity that could be related to K&R evacuees. I know that sounds terrible, but people in desperate times do desperate things. Lets report in six months to see what happens. Thanks!
By Carl
September 27, 2005 8:07 AM | Link to this
To Will Bevis,
Dude, get a life and while you’re at it, get some thicker skin. You were not personally called a criminal nor was your character ever brought into question. The “Bevis and Buttheadâ€? comment was obviously … a reference to two cartoon character buffoons. Are you a cartoon character? …
By Becki
September 27, 2005 4:52 PM | Link to this
Besides, Rose just misspelled the name. It’s really Beavis, not Bevis. (Believe me, I know how truly sad it is that I know how to spell this! I’m not a fan, just a stickler for accurate spelling.)
By Stephen
September 29, 2005 1:49 AM | Link to this
Well with the Lexus in mind in could have been an older Lexus, (a rebadged Toyota anyway) plus the Lexus though many liken to high end well appointed vehicles, has been around for 10 years or so and there plenty of them around that are third hand or fourth and sometimes fifth.
As for the name spelling, us folks in law enforcement see so many varients of name spelling (an effort to throw us off, like that is really going to throw me off anyway)we tend to pick the name with the easiest spelling until of course we can get the correct one. However the dude or dudett that tends to keep delibertly misspelling or changing SSN’s all it does for us is make our job easier because we law enforcement folks love all sorts of data and it gets added to the person criminal record the next time around, and makes it easy for Det. Rose to find the dude or dudett later.
By Matt
September 30, 2005 1:19 AM | Link to this
He wrote that the car was a late-model Lexus so I doubt it’s 10 years old or third/fouth/fifth-hand.