View from the cop: Crime & punishment
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AJC.com > Metro > View from the cop > Archives > 2007 > August > 13
Monday, August 13, 2007
Arrests: Dopes and easy collars
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
These are some, but not all, of the incidents reported to the Sandy Springs Police over the past week.
Why do you think they call it dope?
Officers were in the Victoria Commons Apartments checking the area due to recent burglary activity. They saw two men, and then saw a clear plastic bag fall and land at the feet of one of the men. They found a bag of residue believed to be marijuana, called the K-9 unit, and eventually arrested several people for possession of MDMA, also known as Ecstasy. Arrested were Marcus Jerome Bennett, 26, Santonia Lamonz Bennett, age 29, Adonus Lavar Levy, age 24, Jesse Bennett, age 23, and Cairo Howard, age 19. All are from Mississippi.
Oscar Diaz, 30, from Sandy Springs, was arrested for Disorderly Conduct / Possession of Drugs after officers found a bag of pot next to him in the bushes where the officer saw him throw it on him. Oscar opted not to invoke the “Somebody must have put it there because it sure ain’t mine” defense.
Two Marietta men were arrested because they were really drunk. Jacob Walters, 23, and Sven Robert Braun, were found on the side of the road and in the back seat of an abandoned car with right-side damage, probably from Mr. Curb. Both were so drunk that they were charged with Disorderly while Under the Influence.
An employee of Northside Hospital said someone removed her credit cards from her wallet which was located inside a cabinet over her desk. The thief attempted to use one of the cards in Chamblee and Buford, but they were declined. Another employee reported her cards taken on the same day.
A woman reported that as she left her office around 11 a.m. she noticed that her wallet was gone from her cubicle. She had just attended a meeting. She had the wallet before and upon return it was gone. No activity was reported on the cards.
Desks and file cabinets are not good places to put your purse, wallet, etc if you can’t lock them. Take your credit and debit cards, SSN and driver’s license, and slip them in your pocket so they are with you.
A man said that he placed $298 cash under his keyboard for a few minutes while he left the area. When he returned, the money was gone. That was just not too smart. Why not put the money in your pocket?
Easy collars from elsewhere
Nicholas Raber, 19, was arrested in Annapolis, Md., for punching a police officer and dashing up a flight of stairs after yelling, “You’ll never catch me.” The officers were aware that upstairs exits were locked and so waited patiently for Raber to come back down and be handcuffed.
Mitchell Sigman, 22, was arrested and charged with robbing the Village Pantry in Elkhart, Ind., after the clerk-victim identified him as a regular customer who had recently filled out an application to work there.
Cory Shapiro, 19, was arrested in January after he flagged down a police officer to complain that he had been overcharged for drinks at the Athens, Ga., bar Bourbon Street.
Other incidents
Two teenagers were walking on Sandy Springs Circle towards Hammond Drive when a grey VW Passat or Jetta pulled up and a Hispanic male, pulled a gun and demanded a necklace from the victim.
While he was gone overnight, a man’s apartment on Peachtree Dunwoody Road was entered, possibly with a stolen set of keys., and an old box of checks stolen. The victim suspects a homeless man he had befriended. You need to watch out whom you befriend. We have seen more than one of these scenarios.
Candice Williams, 26, from Sandy Springs was arrested for Disorderly While Under the Influence following a fight call. The officers were there earlier and tried to mediate the call under the condition that Williams leave. She returned, so on the second call she was arrested.
