View from the cop: Crime & punishment
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AJC.com > Metro > View from the cop > Archives > 2008 > November
November 2008
Crime & punishment
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
People Who Make Us Look Normal
A restaurant employee said a man came into the restaurant on Mount Vernon Highway and sat down at a table designated for more than one person. The employee asked the man to please move to a smaller table, which he did.
The man ordered a couple of beers, a hamburger, a sundae, and a brandy. When it came time for the check, the server gave him the bill. The man then drew, with blue ink and a green crayon, a sixty-dollar bill. He then gave the just-made sixty-dollar bill to the server—and then asked for change. The server told the man he required actual money. The man then got up and ran out of the restaurant.
Robbery
A man reported that he stopped to pick up a hitchhiker (clue) around 8 p.m. The hitchhiker pulled a gun and forced the victim to drive to his bank and withdraw about $80 from the ATM. He then drove the man to Roswell and let him off at a service station near Holcomb Bridge Road.
One of the oldest and best pieces of advice you got when you started driving was “Never pick up a hitchhiker.” This is why.
Burglary
An apartment leasing manager reported someone stole a 42-inch television from the leasing office on Glenridge Drive. The side door to the office had been forced open.
The complainant said someone entered the home in the 700 block of Brook Park Place through a side-garage window, and then entered the kitchen. They took several appliances from the home and loaded them in a truck that they apparently backed up into or near the garage area.
Someone forced a window open and entered the victim’s apartment in the 8000 block of Roswell Road. The victim said a Playstation 3 video game system and two games were missing.
The victim’s front door was forced open. He found that two televisions were taken from the home on North Chambord Drive as well a laptop and printer. He also discovered they took his motorcycle.
Fraud, Forgery, and I.D. Theft
A man reported that someone went into his locker at the gym on Mt. Vernon Highway and took his keys. They went outside, found his car (alarm function) and then took his wallet and credit cards. They used the cards a short time later about three miles away at a retail store.
Although it’s a good point to leave your wallet out of the gym locker, these key thefts do occur occasionally. Even if you leave it in the car, find a good hiding spot where it would take a while to find it. For that matter, there’s a dozen places in your car you could hide small items like a credit card, where it would be extremely hard and time consuming to find them. Be creative.
Another option is to take the cards out and stash them in your pocket of your gym shorts. Buy the fancy gym shorts with the Velcro flat. I don’t know what you’re going to do in the shower (I’m not going there) but keep you eyes on those cards as much as you can.
Scam
We see this one just about monthly now.
A woman reported that she met a man while at a gas station on Roswell Road. The man asked for her phone number, which she gave him. They later went out. The man, who identified himself as the owner of a security company, said he had two out-of-town checks, each for $3,000. (clue)
He asked her to deposit the two checks and for her trouble, she could keep $700 from each. She did, and kept the $700 and gave him the rest. Soon, he asked her to do the same with a couple of $2.000 checks, which she did and kept the balance. The bank then contacted her and said the checks were fraudulent and did not clear. She called the man who told her that he would pay her back but later, he quit answering the phone. She’s out $4,430.
This is going on more and more. Large amount checks and the person telling you to keep a percentage is your clue this is a scam. Don’t fall for it.
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Speed can be a sure killer
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Someone said something in my last blog entry about the car that recent crashed on 400.
120-plus MPH and all it took was one swerve and it’s the ball game, folks. Ever seen a car going that fast? I mean this guy’s luck was definitely not there as far as hitting the bridge abutment but at that speed, his luck was running out fast because going south on 400 towards 285 gets more and more crowded. From what I can tell they don’t know why he was doing that fast.
Reaction time is almost non-existent at that speed and on GA 400 at that time of day it was suicidal. (That’s not to say that’s what this incident was about.)
I worked a suicide on GA 400 many moons ago before the divider was put in.
A woman going north just north of Northridge crossed the median grass and hit a garbage truck—big garbage truck head on, killing her instantly. No other cars on the road. No brakes just tire tracks with a direct diagonal line to the truck. She had the “Frozen Face” meaning she saw it coming. Arms were broken because she had a tight grip on the wheel. She had some romance problems but nothing serious as far as we could tell. She was young too.
Aside from someone who wants to kill themselves in a car, what many people think is that you’re surrounded by metal that will hold up on an impact. You would be surprised as to how fast the inside of a car folds up on impact. We find wrecks where we have to look for a few seconds to find the body. It’s like a Cocola (remember-that’s how we pronounce it in the south) can stomped on.
Back in the day, vehicle pursuits were called chases. Now, most chase policies are very modest because the chase-ee, ie: bad guy, is out of control and that car isn’t going too far before it hits something or someone. That’s why pit maneuvers are more popular in training scenarios. They work if you can get to them in time. Most chases lasted one or two minutes. Motorcycles were cut or dry. They either got away or they wrecked. You rarely caught one. I can remember several fatalities on motorcycles running from the cops.
In the 70’s I had a 1976 Pontiac Le Mans patrol car with the big 400 ci V-8 engines. It was fast and it was low and flat and would fly. I got into a chase with a 280-Z that went from Fulton to Doraville, Chamblee, DeKalb, back to Fulton, and then Cobb. It took 29 minutes and was by far, the longest chase I was ever in. DeKalb PD had Volares (remember them?) and blew about four of them up during the chase. I was out-driving that guy on the back roads and could almost overtake him on the freeway. We got on the access road and crossed Chamblee Dunwoody at the entrance to 285 West in the air—no kidding—in the air.
Here’s the kicker: I never caught him. Never did.
Here’s the other kicker: Initially, I had pulled him over for laying drags. Not exactly crime of the century.
Here’s yet another kicker: When my adrenalin stopped pumping—and it pumped for 29 minutes, I freaked out. It was late at night and no traffic but later, when I thought and re-lived that chase, I freaked out. At a number of points during that chase, I could have wrecked and done what that guy did on 400 because I was hitting 120-130 MPH in places that weren’t designed for it—namely, well, roads. I went home and did not sleep and I remember talking to my then wife who, now that I think about it, slept through my emotional declaration, and the more I talked the more I realized how close I came to killing myself and whoever else would have been in the way at the wrong time.
I never made that mistake again. I got into car chases again but never let the adrenalin drive the car again, that’s for damn sure. Most chases were the result of a felony and I broke a few off just because it was getting too risky. Like I said, chase policies are modest now days simply because of the risk. No days, I don’t chase cars because I don’t go over 50 MPH and I’m so damn far sighted, the last time I reached for the blue-light button, I accidentally opened the trunk. Not cool.
Vehicle pursuits still occur but the training involves when to shut it down. Most cars have video and the tag number of the bad guy is obtained. Just because they get away that night doesn’t necessarily mean we don’t snatch them later or at least put a hit on their credit score. (That would be really cool.)
Hell folks, you can be killed in a car doing 30 MPH. Reaction time is usually the nail in the coffin. Multiply that at 120 MPH and like I said, it’s close to suicide. Remember that guy the cops were chasing a few years ago from Alpharetta? He wrote a bad check at a liquor store and ended up running from the cops on 400 south. He tried to make the 285 west ramp but was too fast. The car rolled, ejected the driver, who then bounced (sort of) and crossed the median wall, then was hit by the eastbound car? There’s video of it and it ain’t pretty. He probably never knew it hit him but again, NOT PRETTY!!
Even if you do something really, really stupid, like rob someone or re-broadcast a pro football game without the expressed written consent of the NFL, and it seems like escape is the answer, that car will get out of control so fast you are almost certain to wreck. You can’t run from something and drive at the same time. Nobody multi-tasks that well.
Don’t panic, pull over, call it a night. Uh, well, go ahead and confess if you want—we’re good with that too.
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View from the Cop
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
San Diego is a cool place if you’ve never been. There is plenty to do and even in November, the weather is really good; 80’s and a lot of sunshine.
But during a recent visit there for a conference I noticed another side to the city. San Diego has some of the world’s worst drivers—yes, even compared to us.
I was stationed in San Diego when I got out of the Navy a few years back — well, a lot of years — when the Rolling Stones were on only their fourth farewell tour and before Joan Rivers looked Asian.
I have fond memories of San Diego, especially when I lived in Ocean Beach, or O.B. We had an old apartment, furnished with the latest fashionable cinder blocks and the obligatory ceramic Buddha that sat in the corner of the living room. It was yellow which perfectly complemented the orange shag carpet.
There were three of us living there. We shared one car, a 1960 Ford Falcon, orange in color, jacked up in the back with chrome-reverse wheels and a see-through floorboard on the driver’s side. It was a four speed—the shifter knob had long since fallen off and for some reason never replaced. Most of the time it started but just in case, we always parked it on a hill when we could. We called it “The Orange Flame.”
Living at the beach meant I was obligated to learn to surf. I never did. I could momentarily stand up on the board but could never master the cool look of running into the water with my surfboard.
The local surfers had way too much cool blond hair and therefore looked flawless running into surf, throwing the board out in front, leaping onto the board, and then paddling away. When I ran, my hair stood straight up and stayed that way. I looked like a rooster.
The first time I tried the cool run to the water, I ran too fast, fell over front ways, dug the tip of the surfboard into the sand which catapulted me another 10 feet or so face-down into the kelp. I got up like I meant to do it—you know, ha-ha and all, ran out into the surf where I threw the board down into the water, jumped on it, slid off, and met Mr. Jellyfish.
If you’ve ever had the pleasure, you know this hurts—hurts bad. One remedy for Jellyfish stings is to cover the welts with ammonia. As bad as I hurt I was a bit timid of asking someone to pee on my leg.
I had forgotten how much fun we used to have there. The civilians hated us, we had no money, and spent way too much time on unproductive things such as the time we stayed way too late in an Ocean Beach bar and then, for some reason, thought it was a good idea to drive south and invade Mexico.
Fortunately, the Tijuana cops were nice enough to return us to the border after a generous donation to their “Policeman’s Ball” by way of all the money we had left in our pockets.
If you go to San Diego, and then onto Ocean Beach, stop at HoDads, a bar and grill on Newport Street. They have the world’s largest tuna fish sandwich and you can sit facing the open window, right next to the sidewalk. (They call it O.B. T.V.) If you like the Parade of Weirdness, this is your place.
It was nice to visit but between worrying about everything burning up or falling into the earth on the next big earthquake, I might be better off here with just the pollen, coyotes, and ice storms to contend with.
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Crime & punishment
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Here’s a wrap-up of items from the Sandy Springs police blotter:
Robbery
A food delivery driver received a call to deliver $150 in food to an apartment in the Celebration Apartments complex on Roswell Road. A second employee went along to help with the large order and because the driver was concerned about potential danger. That person waited at the delivery car. Once the victim knocked on the door, he was jumped by two men. The victim resisted at first but was assaulted by the two men, one of whom then pulled a gun. The second employee ran from the location while calling the police. They suspects ransacked the victim’s car but left without getting anything.
Burglary
Two men kicked in the door to an apartment in the 1100 block of Huntcliff Village Drive and removed several items including a couple of laptops, jewelry and cash. The burglary was witnessed by a neighbor who called police. Two suspects were later detained and questioned about the burglary.
A man said he cashed a college tuition check at a check-cashing store on Roswell Road. He came home and left the cash—$7,000, on his end table, and then left to go to the mall. (Huh?) He came home and found his patio door open and then discovered the cash missing. (Anyone here surprised?)
Forgery, Fraud, and I.D. Theft
The victim said someone used his personal information to obtain a Wachovia bank card and then used it for over $1,000 in transactions.
In another case, a man applying for a mortgage said he was informed that someone applied for and received two credit cards in his name. The Visa and MasterCard accounts amounted to just under $2,000.
An employee of Best Bank located inside the Kroger Store on Roswell Road said a woman came in and then tried to cash a fraudulent check from the M & T Bank in Buffalo, NY. The bank employee contacted the M & T Bank and was told the check was fraud. (The teller pretty much knew it because the check looked like it was made on a color printer.) The teller noted the woman who presented the check gave her correct driver’s license number. The woman, after being told about the check, said she sells Avon products on the Internet. She was contacted by a woman from Spellman Drive in Fayetteville, NC. She wanted to order just over $400 in Avon products. She would send a check for a little over the billing amount—the excess funds would go for a credit on her next purchase. The woman said she received the check and was surprised to find the amount was over $2,400. The instructions were to cash the check, take her cut, and then send the balance of over $1,900 to a woman in Michigan. Of course, the scam is to cash the check and then find later the check is no good—after you sent your money to the other address. Fortunately for this woman, the teller recognized this as a bad check and so it was never deposited.
Thefts
An employee of the Rite Aid Drug Store on Roswell Road said a man came in and attempted to steal hair care products. The employee followed the man out of the store and they scuffled in the parking lot until the suspect was able to get away. The employee was able to get the products back as well as the man’s jacket and Marta card.
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Good hardware deters burglars
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Many burglars will only spend about a minute trying to defeat the locks holding them out of your house. A combination of good neighbors and good locks can add up to a big deterrent to a burglar.
Probably about half of the burglaries we see involve the bad guy coming in an unlocked door or window. So first things first, lock them up. If your front door does not have a dead bolt, get one. A good dead bolt should have a 1 ½ to 2” throw. Make sure it’s well installed.
Sliding doors are sometimes easy access into the home. You can install commercially available locks or use a broomstick or dowel in the inside track to jam the door from sliding open. To prevent the door from being lifted from the track, drill a hole through sliding door frame and the fixed frame then slide a pin through, connected both.
Double-hung windows can be secured with key locks. You can “pin” them by drilling a small hole into a forty-five degree angle between the inner and outer frames. Insert a nail that can be removed. Don’t forget to place the alarm-company decal on the windows or if you prefer, the picture of the Rotweiller foaming at the mouth. I have a photo of my Uncle Dewey after “Tequila Night at the Moose Lodge” posted on the windows and door. It reads: “Come on in, I’d love to meet you!” under it. He’s smiling and his eyes are going in different directions and he’s drooling all over his old “Johnny Paycheck for President” airbrushed t-shirt he got in Panama City in 1984. Not only do we not have any burglar problems but have us on THEIR do-not-call list. Whatever works!
Check your doors. Flimsy doors don’t keep anyone out. Unfortunately, many older apartments have sub-standard door frames and doors that cave in on the first kick.
Check it and request that maintenance come out and look them over. Make it know that you want a new door if that old one doesn’t fit tightly, or has an obvious weakness. (In apartment communities you sometimes have to be persistent so be persistent.)
Install a peephole or wide-angle viewer in all entry doors so you can see who it is outside without opening the door. Forget door chains. I don’t know why they even install them. They don’t keep out intruders. Speaking of opening the door, don’t be afraid to ask who it is when somebody knocks or rings the doorbell. Find out before you open the door.
Speaking of opening the door (again,) be mindful that we got a couple of calls from residents as well as complaints from retail areas such as the grocery stores that young males were trying to solicit money for a basketball team. Sometimes these are legit but there have been some problems with these being phonies too. Ask questions and request a phone number to call and verify. Be careful.
Check your lights on the outside of the house. This has more to do with thieves looking to break into your car but if you read this report often enough you’ll remember where we occasionally have a cat burglar who probably originally intended to go into the garage and then into the car and steal from it but found the door leading to the kitchen from the garage open and took a purse from the kitchen counter. These night thieves hate light. Motion detection units are affordable and be bought at hardware stores and then easily installed.
Keep the bushes cut back enough so that you can see your windows. Under the window, plant bushes that have nice sharp points on them.
House numbers—(this is a pet peeve of mine) should be large and loud. It costs valuable response time when we cannot find your house number. Make them painfully obvious! Neon is fine.
Put timers on your lights and even your stereo inside the house. Don’t let the mail pile up. Call a neighbor to pick it and the paper up. Why have your neighbor pick it up instead of the post office canceling it for a while? The less people who know you’re gone, the better.
Use the Out of Town House Check Form. You can download it at www.sandyspringspolice.org under “downloadable forms.”
And finally. Remember to inventory what you have. Serial numbers and digital photos of items are great for recovering stolen property. A major problem with just about all police departments is not being able to identify recovered stolen property. With digital photography and computers, there’s no reason you can’t have beautiful 5x7 glossies of your expensive jewelry, electronics, heirlooms. Anyway, the point is, have a record of what you have and put it on CD or something, somewhere, where we can access it later. For instance, my Uncle Renaldo has an impressive collection of deer heads he keeps in his trailer up near Ball Ground. Sometimes, when he gets into a bottle of Old Gumshoe, he puts one of them on and chases the neighbors around some. It’s all good harmless fun but the point is if they steal it and we recover it, we need for you to be able to identify it so we can give it back.
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