View from the cop: Crime & punishment
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AJC.com > Metro > View from the cop > Archives > 2007 > August > 31
Friday, August 31, 2007
Sometimes, crime barely pays
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Some items from the police blotter of late:
A man reported that he was selling jewelry from his apartment. He said he invited a woman and two men inside to look at the jewelry. He said during the meeting he felt uneasy so he went into the bedroom to get his gun (which I guess makes you feel easy again?).
When he came back out, he told the three people he felt uneasy, even with the gun, and asked them to leave. They did, and so did a $1,500 Rolex and a fake Rolex valued at $50 (that’s a stretch).
According to the victim, the three people then knocked on the door, trying to get back in. He would not let them in. He said that instead of remaining in the locked apartment, with a gun, and access to a telephone to call 911, he instead fled the apartment. He said the other people shot at him. Officers found that the ‘victim’s’ gun that was left inside the apartment (duh) had been discharged, again according to the victim, by the suspects.
This one doesn’t even pass the smell test does it?
Crime Barely Pays
A man on Glenridge Parkway reported that someone took his drive-out dealer tag from his car. Drives out tags don’t have serial numbers so we can’t trace them.
Someone swiped a tag decal from a company truck at Lowe’s on Roswell Road.
The Hammond Hills Swim and Tennis club reported someone forced entry into the building and snack machines looking for change.
El Toro’s Mexican Restaurant on Roswell Road was burglarized (no forced entry) and a cash box with $10 in it was taken.
Think Safety
It’s your stuff, but those theft reports generate paper and according to my calculations if we reduced thefts from cars as much as 30%, we’d save an average of 16 trees each month. This means that the greenhouse effect would be, uh, effected and Al Gore would have to make another movie because all the numbers would be skewed.
I think that you should make a checklist of only a few things, but important things. Check your deadbolts and make sure they’re sturdy—especially in the older homes. Check the window locks and if you have time, think about pining then together. (Drill a hole and pin them together where the two windows meet in the middle.) Use your alarm system. Check your outside lights to see if they work and think about motion detectors. When you make the hardware store run, go and check them out. They are easily installed.
Assault, With Mushrooms
A delivery driver said that he delivered an order to an address in the Foxcroft Condos. The occupant of the condo said they did not order anything. The driver then exited the stairs and was walking out of the front of the building when he was struck on the head with an object, possibly a bottle. He said a white male, about 17 years old, tall, wearing khaki shorts and a beige T-shirt ran back through the building and out the opposite door after he was hit.
A pizza delivery driver said that he delivered a call-in order to Silverwood Road around 11 p.m. When he got out of the car, he was approached by two men who took his money purse containing a small amount of cash as well as his phone and then ran behind a house. The suspects are white males, one wearing a ball cap.
Stolen Vehicles
1993 Jeep Cherokee, white
1993 Toyota Previa, grey
2001 Mitsubishi Montero, blue
2005 Acura TL, black
2003 Ford Focus, white
2007 Pontiac Grand Prix, silver
1996 Honda Accord, blue and green
1996 Honda Accord, green
1999 Dodge Durango, black
1997 Ford F-150, white
1997 Nissan Altima, black
Arrests
Newton DeMelo, 31, of Sandy Springs was arrested for Criminal Trespass, Felony Obstruction of a Police Officer and Aggravated Battery and Assault on a Police Officer following a domestic violence call. In an attempt to escape, the suspect got into a physical altercation with the officer. He was later found by officers and K-9 officers in the wooded area not far away.
Other Stuff
According to a translator, the victim left the his apartment in the Chastain Apartments around 7 p.m. to pick up his paycheck. He returned some time later and was injured. He was bleeding and had passed out shortly after arriving back. He was taken to Atlanta Medical Center where it was learned that he had a gunshot wound to his arm. Detectives later followed a blood trail to the outside area near a window, to another apartment. The glass to the window was broken. The investigation is still active.
A building at 5075 Roswell Road was vandalized when someone painted “I was here” and “we are out of paint” on it.
Thinning the Herd
A burglar was killed trying to sneak into the Maranatha Used Clothing store in Miami. Police said the man had crawled between the blades of a large, idle ventilation fan but that before getting all the way through, he accidentally tripped the “on” switch.
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