View from the cop: Crime & punishment
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AJC.com > Metro > View from the cop > Archives > 2006 > July > 21 > Entry
Real-life CSI gets it done!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Our CSI tech and detective went to an apartment complex to follow up on a burglary to the clubhouse. The front door glass was shattered. The burglar had rummaged around the kitchen area.
The CSI checked the refrigerator and took what he thought were some possible prints. Hhe found some keys behind the refrigerator. Attached to the keys was a tag with an Auburn University creed. It had another tag with three initials, assumed to be the initials of the person who owned the keys. (In police work we call that a clue!)
The CSI went to the manager’s office and looked the files over to find a resident with some or all of the initials. He found some and checked several mailboxes because he found what appeared to be a mailbox key on the key set. (In police work we call this another clue.)
The very last mailbox fit the key. He went to that apartment and talked with the residents. One finally admitted he burglarized the clubhouse because he was drunk and mad because his girlfriend dumped him and he lost his job.
Admittedly, it’s always a bad day when you get fired and dumped. In hindsight, though, he should have done the traditional call the old girlfriend method. The man did leave two really fine prints on the refrigerator. He was charged with burglary.
His roommate was wanted in a nearby jurisdiction for failure to appear. Both were taken to Roswell jail.
This is good old-fashioned police work. You folks have been long overdue for this, so enjoy the results!
My friends call me Abby Normal
Officers saw a woman going in and out of a known drug area near Northwood Drive. She gave officers several false names before admitting her real name. She had gone to the location to buy drugs. She was charged with giving a false name and taken to Roswell Jail.
Many people try to give a false name, thinking that it’s really simple and a good way to get out of trouble. Sometimes the creativity of these false names is the first clue that the name is made up. Many pick names that are too flashy and/or stand out.
Some examples:
— Ricardo Montalban
— Chuck Roast
— Big Jim Slade
— Turok, Son of Stone
— Sally Mander
— Bob (Just Bob)
Have a good weekend, Turok!
Comments
Commenting is now closed for this entry.
By The "Big Fish" Guy
July 21, 2006 4:26 PM | Link to this
Steve,
you said “the very last mailbox fit the key. ….” This is akin to finding something in “the last place you look”. If you’ve found it, why would you keep looking in another place?
Of course, the real question is, whether this sly bit of logical humor was intentional, or accidental. I vote for the latter.
By BexB
July 21, 2006 4:46 PM | Link to this
I think in this case there actually is a “last” mailbox. Afterall, he did get a list of residents with those initials, and it makes sense that he was using that list, rather than try ALL the mailboxes. Makes sense to me!
By Michael
July 21, 2006 6:14 PM | Link to this
Send CSI to my office to find my keys!
By laurie
July 21, 2006 10:06 PM | Link to this
Steve, you have to tell me - was it a certain apartment complex on the east side of Roswell road located, say, between Abernathy and Spalding? I used to live there - and this type of behavior would not surprise me a bit. Inquiring minds really want to know.
By Political Foreskin
July 22, 2006 9:48 AM | Link to this
I think we should give more credit to the CSI guys, and the police who can think on their feet. When that serial murderer who owned a hog farm was finally caught out West a few years ago, it was the CSI guys that had to analyze the remains of a victim who had passed through the digestive tract of a hog. I remember the press conference:
“We had a really hard time figuring out exactly what happened to this guy. It’s possible that he spent part of his life as a football. However, after careful scrutiny using strict scientific proceedures on a battery of tests, we are 99.99999 percent sure that the victim is…..JIMMY DEAN!!!”
By Swangirl
July 23, 2006 9:34 AM | Link to this
You didn’t mention my favorite fake name: Buck Naked
In school at test time, it was:
Ima Student