View from the cop: Crime & punishment
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AJC.com > Metro > View from the cop > Archives > 2007 > November > 02 > Entry
Beware of shirt-tearing knuckle scrapers!
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
We have a tip sheet for narcotics violations complaints located on our section on the website at www.sandyspringsga.org. Go to Emergency Services-Police.
These are some, but not all, incidents reported to the Sandy Springs Police over the past week.
Craigsllst Con
A woman said that she bought two tickets to the Kid Rock Concert (Live at the Waffle House) on craigslist, from a man described as a black male, mid 20’s, short hair, wearing a diamond earring. She met the man at the Powers Ferry Landing Shopping Center. The tickets turned out to be fake. She said that six others were scammed as well.
If you have not been on craigslist, it’s a buy and sell and a bunch of other things, site on the Internet. The site is crawling with scam artists trying to rip you off on fake checks, money orders, etc. I tried to sell something on it a couple of years ago and I received twelve offers, all forgeries. Fake checks, money orders and a postal money order were offered but all of them wanted the product shipped prior to final payment, which is the big tip off. The site warns you of scam artists and they are there, especially with tickets and electronic sales. Be careful and save yourself the grief and buy concert tickets from reputable companies with those ridiculous service charges.
Robbery
A man and two women came into the Subway on Roswell Road and robbed the manager of $20 worth of food, which is about the dumbest thing I have ever heard. FYI: Armed Robbery is Armed Robbery whether it is money or food. What are you going to tell the guys in the slammer? I got 20 years for stealing the number-four combo?
A white male, about 34 years old, 5-10” to 6-0”, skinny with blond hair, blue eyes, wearing a dark colored suite with a white and blue striped shirt entered the Kroger at Fountain Oaks Shopping Center and robbed the Bestbank branch, located near the front of the store, of an undisclosed amount of money.
An employee of the Arby’s on Roswell Road said that a man walked into the store just before 10 p.m. and ordered a drink. A few minutes later he jumped the counter and pulled out a box-cutter and forced the manager to turn over a small amount of cash. The suspect is a black male, 6-4”, short hair, goatee, late 20’s, wearing grey sweatpants and a sweatshirt, hooded and heavy work boots.
Thefts
A woman on Waterford Place reported that a man, whom she allowed to stay with her for a few days, stole two suitcases and her dog.
A man went to a checkout line and pulled his wallet from his back pocket and paid for his items. He put the wallet back into his pocket. A man behind him in line, reached into his pocket and took the wallet and then walked out of the store. The victim then went back to the pocket for the wallet and found it was gone. The theft was captured on video. The suspect is a black male, 35-40 years old, wearing jeans, a white shirt and shoes, and a blue-jean jacket with some sort of graphic on the right side. He had a goatee as well.
Someone stole copper wiring from several different condo units on Perennial Drive.
A woman said a white male came into her business on Roswell Road and bought a bottle of water with a $20 bill. He then asked for change for another $20 bill and in doing so, confused the employee. The man became belligerent and walked out. She later discovered she was short $130 on the register.
Fraud / ID Theft
A woman on Spalding Trail reported that someone opened a $30,000 line of credit in her name. She said that she reported her purse, wallet, and credit cards stolen about a year ago.
Arrests
Matthew Nicholas Horton, 23,of Atlanta, was arrested for Public Indecency in the 600 block of Cimarron Parkway after neighbors complained that he was standing on his 3rd floor apartment balcony naked, talking on his phone. Horton said he was standing on the balcony, talking on the phone, naked, because he was doing his laundry and it was relaxing. Unfortunately he was in view from a public area where children play so Horton was arrested, clothed, and taken to jail. Neighbors told the officer they asked Horton to put some clothes on when they saw him. He apparently ignored them.
Mario Smith, 28, from Palmetto is charged with a number of criminal and traffic charges after he eluded police following the attempt to arrest him on a warrant, following a traffic stop. Smith fled south on Roswell Road and struck a 22-year old man who was attempting to run out of the way of Smith’s car. The victim’s leg was severed on impact. He remains in North Fulton Hospital. Smith is in jail. He is facing traffic and criminal charges in Roswell, GA as well, from a previous incident.
Ashley Ashabranner, 30, from Atlanta, who ought to know better, didn’t, and was arrested after she put several items in her purse and a bag, and then tried to leave without paying. During the interview with the police officer, he found some small white rocks, suspected to be crack cocaine, on the suspect who was then charged additionally with VGCSA.
Kathleen Elizabeth Clarke, 32, of Sandy Springs was arrested for Criminal Trespass (damage to property), DOC, and Obstruction after officers answered a complaint about an unruly female. She was intoxicated and said she smashed the windows of a car belonging to a man who she said sold crack to her girlfriend. Clarke told the officers she had been smoking crack.
Isai Hernandez, 20, of Sandy Springs, was arrested for Participation in Criminal Street Gang Activity and Carrying a Concealed Weapon after officers checked an area known as a place of criminal activity. The suspect had a .38 caliber pistol on him and several gang markings and tattoos signifying that he was involved with a local “Riverside Locos” gang, also known as RSL-13.
Reasons to Reduce Job Stress
Officers were called to an apartment on Peachtree Dunwoody Road regarding a stabbing. They arrived and found out the following: Two delivery men, who were delivering furniture to an apartment, got into an argument with each other. During the argument, one of the men pulled a knife and stabbed the other. The victim was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries and Tyrone Emanuel Venzen, 29, from Decatur, was arrested. Officers and detective found blood on the floor of the apartment. The poor guy who lived there had lost almost everything in a fire at his previous residence and was trying to start over. I don’t think he needed all of this drama right now.
Lucky Lottery Winner
A man named Ronald Lewis called a resident on Allen Road and stated that she had won a foreign lottery and there was a certified check for $587,000 waiting for her at the airport. The caller ID showed that he was calling from “International Gateway” (404)492-8488. He told her to call him back at (514)247-8244. He claimed that “514” is the special area code for the airport. When she called back, he instructed her to go to Wal-Mart and get a cashier’s check for $2800 plus $25 for handling. When she stated that she did not have that much money, he promptly hung up. The number comes back to a Metro PCS cell phone. The “514” number is registered in Montreal, Canada.
A woman on called Sandy Springs Police and reported that she received several phone calls from a woman accusing her of having an affair with her cheating husband. She didn’t comment on the validity of the complaint nor if she knew any of the parties involved therefore, unfortunately, no gossip to report.
Victim Compliance
We could knock down part-one crimes easily, maybe 40%, if we could somehow convince people to remove their steal-able items from their cars. If you read this silly report each week you read me ranting and raving about this in some far-fetched hope that someone will actually listen. I do get some feedback from folks who said they do look at it differently now but couldn’t tell it by the numbers.
The act of removing items from your car is often overcoming procrastination. As we all know, procrastination, also known as P.O.S., (Putting-Off-Stuff) is a type of avoidance behavior which is characterized by deferment of actions or tasks to a later time. It is often cited by psychologists as a mechanism for coping with the anxiety associated with starting or completing any task or decision. I’ll get into this in detail—but not now.
Tons of folks are getting hammered on thefts from cars. At least several hundred thousand dollars in laptops, GPS devices, wallets, purses, guns, cash, and just about anything else, are being stolen each day.
Finally
A man on Pitts Road said he was visiting a friend when a woman came to the residence and confronted him, tore his shirt, and scraped his knuckles. These perpetrators are known as shirt-tearing knuckle scrapers and you’ll stay away from them if you know what’s good for you.
Comments
Commenting is now closed for this entry.
By kia
November 2, 2007 2:24 PM | Link to this
Lt. Steve—It is nice to know there is someone out there who enjoys his job as much as you do.
By alohavampire
November 2, 2007 4:37 PM | Link to this
Steve,
I have no idea how you do it sir.
Darwin’s theory has got to figure into this somehow.
No wonder my brother quit the force.
PS, How did that thug DaBrat get out of jail? She carved up a woman’s face with a liquor bottle. In my opinion that waitress should have the right to shoot that bit** in the street.
By cactus flower
November 2, 2007 5:48 PM | Link to this
“The suspect is a black male, 6-4”, short hair, goatee, late 20’s, wearing grey sweatpants and a sweatshirt, hooded and heavy work boots.” He should be easy to find! Full description even!
By El Bubba
November 2, 2007 6:38 PM | Link to this
Lt. Steve, I have an idea for an article. Has anyone ever tried to bribe you? I was wondering how common that is in the U.S. I payed a fine to cop in Mexico once, on the spot, I’m not sure that is actually a bribe because I didn’t offer it, he asked for it, in cash. El Bubba
By Big Daddy
November 4, 2007 8:13 AM | Link to this
Damn, is there any good news out there? Sandy Springs used to be a nice place to live. WHAT HAPPEN
By Lt. Steve
November 6, 2007 3:50 PM | Link to this
Bribe attempts are common.Unfortunately there are those who took them and paid the price. My favorite was the sea-bass bribe. One of our detectives was contacted by a man who was a previous victim of a theft or something similar. He contacted my detective friend and offered the following scenario. Two of us were to go to the Ft. Lauderdale area on a fishing trip for two weeks. On leaving, we were to go by this fishery and pick up a load of sea bass, ice-packed in coolers, then drive back and make a stop over near the Forsyth GA area. Although the man never came out and said what he wanted, he kept referring to “wouldn’t it be nice if you could fish for a couple of weeks—just a couple of cops on a fishing trip, and then pick up some sea bass and drop it off on the way back for, let’s say, two-hundred grand there and two hundred on return. Would that be a dream or a nightmare? Well we didn’t take the bait but we reported it over to the DEA and i have no idea if it developed. We were never called back. Drunks used to drop fifty-dollar bills over the top roll bar of the cage in the police car on the way to jail. One guy, who was on the way to a club, parked in a two zone and discreetly let me know that there was a twenty-dollar bill on the windshield wiper if i looked the other way. I could have but I didn’t take the time to tell him it was the shopping center that owned the lot, who was towing, not me. Most of the time the bribe attempts are so badly done they resemble a bad movie. Usually they go to jail for being so stupid.Bribing the Mexican cops is a long-standing tradition isn’t it?