View from the cop: Crime & punishment
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AJC.com > Metro > View from the cop > Archives > 2007 > May > 04 > Entry
Crime & Punishment
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Since April 26th there have been two apartment complex laundry facilities targeted for thefts. The bad guys are drilling into the coin box. This happened at the Alara Apartments on Highland Park Trail and at the Jasmine Apartments on Brandon Mill Road.
Heads up Since the middle of February there have been nine incidents where wheels and tires were stolen from vehicles in the areas along Roswell Road near Lake Placid (Roswell & I-285 area) as well as the area of Roswell and Pitts Road. The apartment complexes involved were Hampton Hills, Spalding Bridge, Stone Bridge, Jasmine, Providence North, and Glenlake. Business locations were Mr. Transmission and McCullough Service Center.
The wheels are 22-24” on GM and Dodge / Chrysler trucks. . The primary days of occurrence were Thursday, Fridays, and Saturdays. We think a couple of guys are being dropped off and then a car picks them back up between 1 a.m. and 6 a.m.
Armed Robbery
A man reported that as he parked his car in his parking spot in the 3100 block of Treelodge Parkway, he saw two men who appeared to be trying to force his apartment door open. He approached them and they assaulted him and took about $60 cash before he managed to activate his panic alarm on his car. The two men then ran off. This happened on April 3 about 8 p.m.
This next incident happened on April 29th at about 5 p.m. at the Hampton Hills Apartments. A woman reported that while she was entering her car, two men came up and robbed her of $900 cash. One subject was armed with a pistol.
Burglary
The victim went out of town and upon returning found that someone cut the phone lines and turned off the power to the home from the breaker box. A back basement window was forced but the burglar was unable to get into the main area of the home due to the door leading up to the house from the basement. (This would be a good time to tell you that the door leading to the home from the basement should be a very solid wood door with a 2” deadbolt on it.)
While the resident was out of town, someone forced entry into her apartment in the 1900 block of Jefferson Drive and took two televisions, a laptop, X-Box game system, DVD player, two passports and all of her husband’s clothes and shoes. (No, her husband is NOT missing.)
Assault A man reported that two men, in a car, harassed him in the parking lot of a Citgo after he walked in front of their car as they were pulling up to the gas pumps. The victim said that one of the men threw a drink in his face. The victim said that he left that location and walked to his apartment complex across the street. As he was walking up to the gated entrance, the two suspects followed him. The victim said that one of the men fired a gun at him. The shot missed the victim who fled into the complex. The suspects then left the area. The bullet passed through a window and into a wall in an adjacent apartment while the resident was sitting on the floor. The projectile was recovered and later, video of the suspects were obtained from the Citgo.
Other Stuff If you were over in the area of Morgan Falls Road at the 600 office building complex, we were called out and later evacuated a building after someone found a paper weight in the shape of a hand grenade. It was not a hand grenade but the person who found it discarded in a box did the right thing and called it in.
Arrests Officers responded to a call of a purse snatched from a woman in the parking lot of the REI Store. The two suspects ran to the parking deck of 7000 Central Parkway. Unfortunately for the suspect, two witnesses chased them, ran faster, and caught them. In custody are two males, ages 17 and 18. The two witnesses who caught them are 33 and 45 years old meaning it always pays to stay in shape.
A 25-year old man was arrested for Felony Possession of Marijuana, Trafficking MDMA (Ecstasy) and traffic charges following a traffic stop. The officer noted the smell of marijuana and then “large amount of air fresheners strategically placed throughout the vehicle.” The man had 46 hits of Ecstasy in his pocket that he told the officer he forgot about and two grams of pot under the driver’s seat that Amess, the K-9 found.
Two males, ages 16 and 18, were arrested after officers, patrolling an area known for drug and graffiti activity, found the men sitting in the wooded area next to an apartment complex which is being torn down. The officers noted that a bag was lying on the ground in between the men, about two feet from them. The bag had a green leafy substance in it that appeared to resemble marijuana. The two men were arrested for possession of the marijuana.
Some people believe the “3-Second” rule, commonly applied to food dropped, also applies to the distance placed between a person and drugs when drugs are thrown onto the ground. This was formerly known as the “2-Foot” rule. The interpretation was that if the drugs were on the ground at a distance measuring over 24 inches, those drugs were legally declared “property of the earth” and no charges could be filed. One of the men, as he argued the rule of possession, forgot his had a joint behind his ear.
And Finally Just when you thought Murphy’s Law was just an urban myth, read this: A 43-year old man was arrested at 6335 Roswell Road, in the parking lot of a gym after a man reported that when he walked out of the gym and got into his car, a silver Mercedes drove up next to him and the driver of the car began to stare at him. The complainant said that he noticed a motion coming from the man’s hands, near the waist area and suspected the man was staring at him and masturbating at the same time. (This is sometimes known as multi-tasking.)
The report indicated the man told the complainant, “Hey Big Boy, can I play with you?” The complainant then got out of the car and walked over to the man’s car at which time the man probably read the word “Police” on the complainant’s T-shirt. The man was arrested for Solicitation for an Illicit Sexual Act, a city ordinance. The complainant is a detective with Sandy Springs Police. The guy in jail is upset because of all the luck, this guy was a cop. The detective is upset because all day long everyone’s been calling him “Big Boy.”
Have a safe weekend and take everything out of the car tonight when you get home.
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By What Did He Know And When Did He Know It?
May 4, 2007 10:48 PM | Link to this
I can’t get pass the Kathryn Johnston tragedy, especially since it has come to light that only two months prior another tragedy almost took place with yet another elderly woman who police battered and rushed her home. As a black man living in America how could Chief Pennington not have known these tragedies were bound to happen? That he would be the black skirttail cops felt they could hide behind when things went awry? That he would be the scapecoat when the truth could no longer be hidden? That his blackness was the sole purpose to begin with? The cover so no one could holler racism or NAACP and other social justice organizations wouldn’t be quick to get involved if a black man is in charge of the ones doing the whipping? How could you NOT have known, Chief Pennington? That your people were being dehumanized and victimized all over again? That in essence, many are no better off today than they were when lynch mobs could drag them from their homes, lynch them and burn the family homestead down? What did you know and when did you know it, Chief Pennington?
By ron
May 5, 2007 5:53 AM | Link to this
I agree with "what did he know and when did he know it".Pennington either knew or he's stupid,take your choice.Sorry to hijack your blog Steve,but it has to be done.By the way;I just spent part of the morning reattaching the lock on the car trunk after some kind soul ripped it out several nights ago,only to find a completely empty trunk.The perp could have simply opened the door and flipped the trunk lever to open it,saving us both a lot of trouble.By Kia
May 5, 2007 11:31 AM | Link to this
Hi Steve—Your story about the guy being arrested in the gym parking lot reminded me of another “stupid criminal story.” The father of my niece’s best friend is a police detective. He worked one of the Widespread Panic concerts in Athens. He admits that no one was too terribly strict about the marijuana being smoked, but when one guy lit up right in front of him, while he was in his FULL POLICE UNIFORM, he said “You’re just too stupid to be free!” Then put the cuffs on the kid and walked him out.
By Cletus Snow
May 5, 2007 2:04 PM | Link to this
The no knock warrents lead to problems they cause the issueing judge to assume that the officers possess enough integrity to be truthful, they don’t.For a judge to believe they must make one heck of a leap of faith. Police lie all the time under oath.I was just in traffic court in Dekalb Co.where the officer lied, even about which lane I was in, in fact, almost everything he testified was a lie. Luckily I had two witnesses to testify to the truth, one of my witnesses was a Green Co deputy and I was found not guilty but I did have to make several trips to traffic court, a serious waste of time.
By mustang100
May 5, 2007 2:51 PM | Link to this
At no time did Lt. Rose mention ANYTHING about APD here. Start a forum somewhere else please. As for the two guys chasing the purse snatchers, what if either of the two punks had been armed?
By catlady
May 5, 2007 9:07 PM | Link to this
A man approached me as I was sitting in my car in a hospital parking lot and exposed himself. I drove away and called police because there is a children’s park across the street. The officer asked if I had gotten a good look at the man and I said, “Not his face.”
By Jaynicia99
May 6, 2007 11:23 PM | Link to this
That’s understandable, Mustang and you’re right - Lt. Rose didn’t talk about it. That’s why people are bringing it up…because he’s NOT talking about it. A couple of months back, Lt. Rose makes this big deal about why informants are scumbags and for everybody to “wait for the facts.” So here we are with the facts exposed to the world about crooked APD cops who bust down the door of elderly women and plant drugs on them and are more than willing to shoot them down to cover up their lies and crimes. Lying to the public, lying to the judges, lying to themselves. Two officers pled guilty. Now what? Everybody with 5 cents worth opinion that ran in siding with the cops and ranting from the no good snitch to why was an old woman shooting at police now are silent and want it to go away.
…and the cop who had so much to say is conveniently silent. Then again, I don’t think anybody really expected him to say anything so it’s all good…I’m glad Mrs. Johnston and the snitch are vindicated and hopefully no one else will have to be put through the horrors that Mrs. Johnston and the other elderly lady suffered.
By Dirk
May 7, 2007 8:05 AM | Link to this
Anyone stop to think that maybe Lt. Rose has been instructed to not talk about the APD case?
By Cubby
May 7, 2007 9:00 AM | Link to this
Search Charles Grennel on the internet. He wrote a passage about sheepdogs. Some people are sheep, some are sheepdogs, and some are wolves.
The two guys that snatched the purse are wolves, the female that owned the purse was a sheep and the two older guys that caught the teens are sheepdogs.
In other words, sheepdogs protect the sheep no matter if they had knives, guns, etc. There will always be sheepdogs doing the protecting.
BA USMC 1991-1994
By Jaynicia
May 7, 2007 9:50 AM | Link to this
“Anyone stop to think that maybe Lt. Rose has been instructed to not talk about the APD case?”
Oh I’m sure they put a muzzle on him. I personally don’t blame him for not speaking if you really want to know. He looks ridiculous and so does everyone else for defending all of that mess now that “the facts” have come out. Yes, Virginia…there really IS a police force that frames, murders and lies about what they do to innocent people…
By mustang100
May 7, 2007 5:02 PM | Link to this
Jaynicia. Your name says it all.
By tp123
May 8, 2007 12:04 AM | Link to this
About the guy having a moment with himself.A few years ago I was in front of Grant Park and there sat a guy having a good time.I went to the 4th precinct I think and when the officer asked me what he looked like i just told him that he would not be hard to find.he only had on boots and a t-shirt.Kind of stands out on a street in daylight and I too did not really see his face!
By Fred
May 9, 2007 11:49 PM | Link to this
Good Blog. LOL @”Bigboy” but glad that the pervert (not bigboy) picked the wrong guy. I love “good” cops” but lack the words for the scumbags that wear a badge and commit crime, even when they are committing crime to arrest scumbags. If it isn’t a clean bust it isn’t a bust. It’s a crime committed by cops. Who guards the guardians?