View from the cop: Crime & punishment
View from the Cop is moving to a new site on Wordpress. Blogger Steve Rose of the Sandy Springs Police Department gives his take on crime, offers safety tips and give his weekly picks from the police blotter. Follow Steve Rose to the new blog site.
AJC.com > Metro > View from the cop > Archives > 2007 > May
May 2007
Burglary scam alert
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A man knocked on the victim’s door in the 500 block of Heards Ferry Road Mondy afternoon and told her he was hired to build a fence for her neighbor and wanted to know if she needed a fence as well. The suspect got the victim to walk outside and while she was outside a second person entered the residence. The victim’s husband came home and interrupted the suspect that had entered the house.
These kinds of burglary scams usually target the elderly or stay-at-home moms. The attempt is to get the homeowner out of the house or in a room while the second subject goes to the bedroom and takes jewelry, money, etc that can be carried way easily. The encounters are generally not violent but can turn quickly if confronted since the victim is out numbered.
Fence building, roofing, driveway repair or some other type of home repair or improvement is generally the story given to the victim.
Report suspicious cars and anyone soliciting business door-to-door, especially those without business permit badges displayed.
Crime & punishment
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
As you read these reports of thefts, how many of them could have been avoided with two minutes worth of planning? You really have complete control of your destiny if you will: Realize that this stuff can happen and does happen all over; always remember that all crooks depend on the OPPORTUNITY to commit the crime. You can easily take that away with just about two minutes of planning.
This victim said that someone removed several items from her back yard including a cooler, a pink Motorola cell phone, a half case of Bud and a half case of Corona. The theft occurred between 4:30 to just after 5 a.m. She said that she and some of her friends met some guys and invited them over. Several minutes after they arrived she told them it was time to leave so they did. The officer found marks on the grass where they slid the cooler. It was probably easy because of the dew. There was dew because it was 5 a.m. when all of us were sleeping. Our coolers were safe.
A woman reported that someone stole her purse from her office area. Another employee found the purse in the men’s room but the credit cards were gone. She cancelled the cards and learned the cards had already been used at Kroger, Shell, QT, Walgreens, and Sports Authority. $200 cash was also taken. There was office furniture being moved that day and she believes that someone slipped in and around the legitimate office movers and stole her purse. Access is everything. Don’t leave items in the open when movers or any other outside people are in the home or office. Stash it in a good hiding place. Keep the cards and cash in your pocket while these people have access to your areas.
Domino’s Pizza reported that an employee, who was supposed to make deposits for the company on two dates. They found that the deposits were not made. The employee no longer works for them and they can’t find him. His last address is in Pelham, Georgia. The loss is just over $1800.
A woman reported that someone took her wallet while she was shopping at the Whole Foods Store on Roswell Road. The wallet had her SSN card and check card in it. The card was later used at multiple locations.
A man reported that he set his wallet down while he played basketball at Allen Park. During that time, another man picked up the wallet and ran towards Northwood Drive. The wallet contained approximately $700 as well as the victim’s ID. That’s a lot of money to leave lying on the ground—to me anyway. If I have five bucks in my wallet I go on DEFCON-4.
A customer of the Mellow Mushroom said that someone stole a checkbook from their table around 10 p.m. The checkbook contained $174 cash, a college ID and several receipts.
A woman said that while she was shopping at a Kroger Store, someone took her wallet from her purse. The wallet contained personal and credit cards.
Someone took a $400 sink and about $4200 worth of tile from a home under construction on Fenimore Drive in Sandy Springs.
A woman reported that while she was sleeping in her room at the Women’s Center of Northside Hospital someone took her driver’s license and hospital in-processing paperwork from her purse. The victim and a relative, also napping, said they awoke and saw a man standing in the room. The man said he was there to pick up someone by the name of Crayton. They told him he was in the wrong room and he left. They then discovered the items were missing from her purse.
A man said that he moved out of his apartment after he had a disagreement with his roommate. He didn’t have a place to go so he left some of his stuff in the apartment. The roommate had the locks changed and won’t give him his stuff. You need to plan ahead and have arrangements made for your stuff when you are leaving. At the time you leave, have your stuff with you or this kind of thing will happen.
Thefts from Cars
A laptop, briefcase, and a $2000 Rolex.
$1500 cash and two Motorola cell phones.
Two Amplifiers, a DVD monitor and a CD player face unit.
A black and orange Hawaiian print diaper bag.
A Dell Latitude D620 Notebook computer and case.
A gym bag containing a Ju-Jitsu uniform .
A GPS unit and an I-Pod.
A laptop, computer bag, and a ring .
A briefcase containing an MP3 player, notary stamp, a credit card and several other items. The thief entered through the sunroof.
Burglary
Someone shattered the glass and entered the Spalding Wine and Spirits bottle shop on Spalding Drive. The video shows a male with a hooded shirt, stealing two bottles of Seagram’s V.O. Canadian, one which he dropped on the way out.
Someone stole the TV that was on the wall of the Berkley Run Apartment fitness room.
An apartment resident said that someone forced a window and gained access to his apartment. He said that he didn’t know if anything was taken. He reported the burglary some 19 hours after it happened. Maybe he had to tidy up first.
Arrests
A 24-year-old man was arrested after Sports Authority employees said that he took a pair of $38 Nike shorts and put them under his shirt and then tried to leave the store. An employee saw the theft and tried to detain the suspect. According to the report, the two men got into a physical altercation when the suspect tried to get to his car and leave. The man, who was charged with Shoplifting and Simple Battery, told the officer that he thought it was okay to take the shorts because an employee of Sports Authority said he could have them as a final payment for personal training that she took from him when he worked at the L.A. Fitness gym next door. He will be eligible for the new book “Alibis for Dummies” on sale soon.
Ernesto Rafris, age 34 from Marietta, was arrested for Shoplifting at a Kroger Store after he concealed several hair products in his pants. He was also charged with Disorderly While Under the Influence due to his intoxicated state. His hair was fabulous.
42-year old Deborah Diana Waid was arrested for Battery and Pointing a Pistol at Another in relation to a domestic violence call. The male victim said that he awoke to find the suspect biting his finger. He apparently retreated to a bedroom but the suspect forced the door open and then pointed a gun at him. He disarmed the suspect but sustained a gash to the head after she hit him with the gun.
28-year old Lindsey Eric Rashen of Fresno, California was arrested for Disorderly Conduct and Obstruction after officers responded to the Homestead Suites on a fire alarm. While interviewing Rashen, officers asked him for identification which he refused to show. They asked him to remove his hands from his pockets which he refused to do. They told him that he was then under arrest. Rashen scuffled with the officers while they tried to cuff him. The report said that Rashen tried at least twice to leap, head first, off the second floor balcony and head-butted objects including building columns and the back screen of the police car. Don’t believe what you see on television and in the movies. Head-butting is overrated. That’s not a steel plate up there. For most of you, your brain is inside there and if you head-butt something hard enough you’ll be wearing a bicycle helmet and name tag for the rest of your life. Quit doing stupid things like that.
42-year old Kenneth Mark Slingerland of Sandy Springs was arrested and charged with Pedestrian Under the Influence (Yes, PUI) after he was found passed out in the road just after 4 a.m.
Khalid Avery Egypt, age 17 was arrested and charged with Robbery by Snatch after he told police he was in involved in an earlier robbery where his friend was caught. He said he was feeling guilty.
Kendrick Keyon Williams, age 26, from Atlanta, was arrested after the loss prevention staff at Ross Department Store found that he had been taking money from customers and then canceling the sale of the items they paid for. Store officials said that Williams pocketed over $2500 cash in approximately 17 transactions.
E-mail scam of the week
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Dear,Sir
I am sending you this e-mail letter because of its urgency,secondly in the next few months from now i will be retiring from active government service and i want to use this fund stated below for investment purposes in your country through your able assistance.i know that this not the legal way of contacting you for a business relationship of this magnitude. but sorry i have to take this step based on the urgency of what i needed from you.
I am Mr.Joseph Diara,The personal assistant to the late wife of the president of the federal republic of Nigeria Mrs Stella Obasanjo who died in spain after surgery a year and 7 months Ago.
I am in possession of her contract money of US$19.3MILLION, This fund is currently in the custody of our paying bank (Central Bank Of Nigeria) awaiting immediate claim.I have concluded every arrangement to make you clam this fund on our behalf as the contractor/Beneficiary who executed the contract at the child welfare Fund housing estate and computer institute in Abuja awarded to her by her husband the president.
Please,If you are serious and interested in handling this transaction from your end, Do notify me by email now for more details. but note that there is no risk attached in this deal.
Note also that i have now been re-deployed to the presidency as special assistant to the president.
Yours Sincerely, Mr.Joseph Diara.
Someone in control of $19.3 million should have better software that perhaps contains spell-check.
Don’t fall for this stuff folks! Banks will not send you unsolicited e-mails telling you that you need to verify your account information. Delete them or forward them to the security of the bank in question.
Do whatever it takes on Mother’s Day
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mother’s Day, a national day of guilt, is upon us.
It is one of the two really important days for children, especially the male species. The other day of guilt of course is Valentine’s Day but the similarities stop there.
Valentine’s Day is like taking a test that you had a lot of time to study for. You know it’s coming every February 14th but yet some still fail the test by way of laziness and selfishly not caring enough to remember. There is no such thing as too busy to remember Valentine’s Day. Those who fail pay the price and soon begin their new life of celibacy. Fortunately for them there are video games.
Mother’s Day is the varsity of all holidays that you need to score well on. Screwing this one up makes the Valentine’s Day screw up seem like only being five minutes late checking into your probation office.
This is your heads-up to enjoy this next year by way of calling, visiting, mailing a card and/or flowers, buying a cruise or a new Harley for your mom.
This isn’t like father’s Day. Father’s Day is easier because father’s look at this day as a freebie day. Father’s Day is as simple as buying a new tool. No flowers and no card. You can get one of course but it’s not necessary. All we need is something cool and we have a long list of cool things that you can get. Go to the hardware store. Go to the golf store. Go to the electronics store. Buy something cool and we’re good.
That doesn’t work with moms. Why? Mom is the one who usually wiped your butt. Dads found ways to avoid it whenever possible. The number of times my kid’s mom wiped their butts was fifty-fold to me. There were times that I was caught off guard and trapped in the house with a child in dirty diapers. Fortunately, we lived near a hospital.
Mother’s Day is your annual chance to pay a very little price for all those times that you don’t remember but she does. She remembers when you got sick in the middle of the night and threw up all over her back while she held you. You don’t remember all of those times but she does. Mothers are organized. They keep a log. I think they have secret meetings where they network. They know everything and some of it you don’t want out on the street.
Do yourself a favor and honor your mom and your kid’s mom. Watch the kids while she goes out or do the dishes or plant a tree for her or buy the overpriced Jimmy Buffett blender or clean the deck or pay for her new tattoo or clean her guns.
Whatever it takes, do it.
Happy Mother’s Day.
Let’s get back to the days of ‘normal’ crime
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Paris Hilton reportedly may spend far less than 45 days in county jail for violating probation. Apparently the authorities are faced with the fact that the jails are overcrowded. The answer is not to put people in them. They started this trend back in 1995 with O.J. Simpson.
A spokesperson for the sheriff’s department said: “Paris will be treated like any other inmate who’s classified as a low-level security risk. This means that she has to be back from the clubs at midnight.”
Last year, “Lost” actress Michelle Rodriguez was sentenced to 60 days in jail for violating probation after her drunken driving arrest in Hawaii. She was released in hours because of overcrowding. “Oh my God,” she cried, “That was the worst 45 minutes of my life!”
It’s crazy! Where can we go to get back to being normal? Of all places, a fight broke out on the opening night at the Boston Pops. Two guys got into a semi-sort-of-fight (Let’s just say it wasn’t Chuck Norris up there) up in the balcony. Witnesses said the fight started after and argument over musical differences of opinion on what period was most influential to most modern-era classical musicians.
One of the men suggested Classicism, from 1750 to 1820, was the most influential age of classical music. The other guy said it was Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird” era. The actual fighting broke out over when to flick the lighter and hold it up. The fighting was so lame that the cops just kicked them out without charging them. I’ve been to the symphony. It is very nice but could use more drum solos.
Thanks to phone cameras and video, the Internet is full of fights and rowdy behavior. It shows how stupid people can get, especially with booze. It also destroys the myth that movies and television created over the years as to how people actually fight. In the movies they hit each other with chairs and head-butt and hit guys across the room with their fists. They all look like Ali with the quick and devastating punches. In real life it’s a bit on the sloppy slide. In real life your punch to the head is usually costly. The most common injury resulting in fights are hand injuries. There are about 27 bones in there and they don’t stand up too well against thick jaw bones and skulls.
The other thing about television and movie fights is that the fighters connect on every swing. In real life it’s more miss than hit, especially with drunk guys. Drunks are just swinging away without a clue. Most of the time they just tire out. I saw one drunk try to head-butt the other guy but he missed and went straight down, head-butting the fender of a Olds Cutlass.
Chill out folks. Why waste a good night fighting like a couple of old hens in the balcony when you can be listening to a concerto, whether it’s violin, cello, or piano, it’s relaxing. It may not be “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” but it’s better than breaking all those hand bones, connected to the arm bones and so on.
Ruffles gone wild
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Although I’ve forgotten many things over the years like where all my kids are and how that Miranda thing goes, I can still remember the prom.
The prom was about dressing up, having fun, and trying to convince ourselves that Cold Duck champagne was going to taste good.
The early 70’s were strange times in terms of fashion. My prom attire consisted of a traditional black tux with a purple shirt that was completely saturated with ruffles. These ruffles were not just a fashion note, they were huge purple ruffles.
We left for the prom in my father’s 1969 2-door Ford LTD. That year Ford made the world’s heaviest doors. They were about 8 feet long and weighed about 7 tons. It was spacious inside and fit four comfortably including ruffles.
Our prom was on the top of Stone Mountain. We took the cable car up to the hotel on the top of the mountain. I don’t remember too much about the prom itself other than I realized that some of the girls that I thought were nerdy in class now appeared in a whole new light, a happy light thanks to prom dresses, dancing up and down and cleavage.
My tux became increasingly uncomfortable. The shirt was ruffled down the front and on the sleeves and it seemed the ruffles were getting bigger. Dancing or whatever it was I was doing in the form of it made me perspire and soon the silk shirt with ruffles was drenched. Just about all the guys were in the same boat. It seemed as if the ruffles were reacting to the perspiration and actually growing. By the time we left I couldn’t tell who was who. We all looked like flower arrangements with feet. The perspiration and humidity sent our ruffles into some sort of frenzy. We stumbled around like blind mice looking for the stashed Cold Duck in the bathroom.
The drive home was uncomfortable. I put my tux jacket on to suppress the expanding ruffles which now made the jacket too tight. I looked like Liberace if he worked out. Speaking of working out, nothing did. The Cold Duck was so carbonated all I could do was burp. It was finally left in the bathroom almost full. All of the other plans didn’t materialize either, partially due to the fact that my ruffles had taken over like Kudzu and I looked like something on the Sci-Fi channel. Although I got home in time, I was a half-hour late trying to get out of the car.
Happy Prom Night.
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.
Skepticism, info & dead bolts required
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Here is an e-mail I received Monday:
“One of our neighbors has been ripped off by a man driving a blue Ford F150 pickup truck probably 2000 or older. He saw her car in her driveway with a dent along the door and said he could fix it for her for $. He was there last evening and this morning. Did a crappy (sorry) job, bumps where he drilled holes to pull dents out, paint did not match and she said she wouldn’t pay him for the job, as it was shoddy. He had an Italian accent with Brooklyn accent thrown in, named Geno, or so he said. He started yelling at her. Fortunately her painters showed up to work Monday morning and told him to calm down. She paid him only half the money, but is obviously scared that he might come back.”
We had a complaint recently that several persons were going around dinging in doors and then offering to fix them. Several of the complaints pointed the finger at gypsies who have been reported as the perps in this scam in other areas. As with anything else, don’t have professional work done by anyone other than reputable businesses via Yellow Pages, Internet or other means of verification.
Be skeptical of walk-up business opportunities
REWARD OFFERED
Many of you are aware of the deceased newborn child found on Applegate Lane off of Long Beach Circle earlier this year. Unfortunately we still have no information as to the mother or the child or anyone who may know some information about it. Sandy Springs Police are offering a $5,000 reward for information.
HARDWARE SECURITY
For those of you with basements, here is something to think about. We have had several burglaries where the point of entry was a basement window or door. The bad guys never got into the main part of the home because the door leading from the basement to the main area was a solid wood door with a DEADBOLT. This is a great idea partially because the angle of the stairs makes it hard to put anything behind a good kick.
Your back basement door should be a metal door with a deadbolt of two inches. Metal doors look like wood doors and it’s in the back of the house so it should lessen the shock of those cosmetically sensitive of such things.
AND….
Thefts from cars can only happen if there is something in the car to steal. Thieves are not breaking into empty cars.
Services »
