View from the cop: Crime & punishment
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AJC.com > Metro > View from the cop > Archives > 2007 > November > 09
Friday, November 9, 2007
Rats and snakes
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I’m going to Raleigh to see my 22-year old daughter Lindsay. I don’t get to see her nearly as much as I would like but thanks to e-mail I can keep up with her latest cause. Linds champions many causes and is a natural activist. Her latest cause had to do with the way rats were treated in the pet stores. Ironically, when she called to tell me that she was protesting this particular pet store, I was holding the phone in one hand and the snake’s dinner, by the tail, in the other. I didn’t say a word to her about it.
We got a lot of responses to last night’s TV spot on our man Mr. David Allen Newton who’s posing as a wealthy guy looking to relocate. He’s here looking at homes in the $1.5 million neighborhood. He likes to check the attic, basement, and master bedroom closet very closely. He got a $5000 necklace early last month so he may be lying low for the moment.
It does bring up some awareness issues with a declining real-estate market and the need to sell a home to make some money. Real estate companies have very good guidelines and standards for showing houses to clients.
This guy specifically requested to see homes shown by only one female agent. He saw a bunch of homes through several agents but so far the only documented crime we have is the theft of the necklace. I think that most if not all agents record some info on clients including tag numbers and sometimes driver’s licenses. They also let other agents know where they are at all times when they are showing homes.
This guy had a flaw though. He said he’s a fat-cat from New Jersey and flew down on his plane but showed up in an older car. Aside from Ted Turner, who used to drive an old Toyota way back when, most younger folks (he’s 48) like the new and nicer cars. This guy’s car was a 2005 Honda Accord; nice car but not the first choice of guys who own their own big airplanes.
The other thing about this guy is that he looks like a goober. Some Internet millionaires have that goober look but sometimes the look can make you question things. Don’t be afraid to do that. Bottom line I guess is to try and verify everything you can.
My youngest son and future millionaire (he’s only 15, girls) has his account in a bank, in Cumming, that was robbed earlier in the week. The bad guy walked in, robbed the bank, walked out of the bank and got on his bicycle and rode it over near the Publix where the dye-pack exploded. He’s red now if you see him. A couple of years ago we had a bank robber, who I wrote about, who was the most ill-prepared robber I can recall. He had tight jeans so the money he took filled his pockets so fast he had no other place to put it. He left a trail of money, alongside the woods, leading towards his car. According to the blue dye all over the place and the witnesses, he was about to get in the car when the dye-pack exploded. It blew out his pockets and most likely burned his legs. The witnesses said the blue man limped to the car and drove away slow enough for them to get his tag.
Ya’ll have a good weekend. With any luck I’ll be protesting something like more parking places downtown or forcing fancy coffee stores to sell coffees in flavors that we can pronounce. I’m packing my “Free James Brown” T-shirt.
