View from the cop: Crime & punishment
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AJC.com > Metro > View from the cop > Archives > 2005 > February
February 2005
Drunken altercation No. 342,121
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Two drunk guys were arrested after a drunken altercation on Deer Point Court that was like six million drunken altercations before. One drunk guy got into an argument with another. Later, the drunk guy apologized and put his hand on the other guy’s shoulder. The other guy said, “Get your (bad word) hands off my shoulder.” The drunk guy swung three times at the other guy, hitting him once. By the time the cops got there the drunks guys trying to run away. They ran in circles until the officers rounded them up and sent them to jail.
Brother John: Where am I?
Just after 4 a.m. John drove his Lexus, with the expired tag, through a red light on Peachtree Dunwoody Road. John met a police officer soon thereafter. The officer said he could smell alcohol and noticed John wouldn’t look at him. The officer asked where John was going and John replied, “home.” The officer asked where that was and John answered, “I don’t know.” After a series of field sobriety tests, John was checked for weapons prior to being placed in the police car. The officer found a bag that he suspected was cocaine in John’s pants pocket. John was charged with traffic and cocaine charges. He was arrested and taken to FC jail.
Brewskis on the looseskis
A guy went in a Roswell Road service station at 2:35 in the afternoon and took a 12-pack of beer. The clerk figured out the man wasn’t going to pay for it and told him he was calling the police. The man said, “OK”, then ran out and drove off in a red Chevrolet pickup truck. The clerk did get the tag number; the case is being followed up.
Counterfeiter cashes in
An office-supply store on Roswell Road reported that a male came into the store and picked out a printer valued at $533. He produced six $100 bills to pay for it. The employee did not know the money was fake and gave change. The money was checked and found to be counterfeit when they counted the day’s money later.
The man was on video and a copy was given to the detective.
Sibling rivalry takes an ugly turn
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A man reported his sister called him, upset that he had discussed her recent arrest with his juvenile daughter. She told him she would have someone get him and made the sounds “pop, pop, pop.” The victim interpreted that to be the sound of a gun.
We’ve seen this before
A woman put $21 in grocery items in a bag and tried to leave the store without paying for them. She was charged with shoplifting and using an Unoriginal Method of Operation and released pending an April 4 court date.
Wants the ‘Rock’ back
A man has been receiving harassing phone calls from a man who bought a book on eBay.
The man called the seller and said he wanted his money back. The seller agreed to refund the money once the book was returned. The man has called 13 times but has yet to return the book.
The book is a 30-year-old copy of “Moon Rock.” The value of the sale was $4.
I tried to find the title on the Internet to see what was so interesting, but I couldn’t find anything.
Other items:
— Two men walked on a $109 tab at a taco restaurant.
— Not so swift: An employee of a fast-food place came in for his shift, stole $130 cash and ran out of the restaurant. Other employees witnessed the theft. He had been hired a few days prior.
— Someone stole a resident’s satellite dish, took it across the street and set it up at his apartment.
— A man and woman came into a pizza parlor and ordered a medium meat deluxe pizza, garlic cheese bread and a couple of drinks. They then walked out on the $21 tab. The employee got the tag number of the car and the case is being investigated.
Catering connection caper
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Fulton Police were called to meet Roswell Police at North Fulton Hospital regarding a person shot.
The officers met with a woman and her husband. The woman had a gunshot wound to her leg.
She and her husband said they went to meet someone named “Big-L” in a parking lot of an apartment on Roswell Road. They were going to meet “Big-L” to secure some catering connections. The couple was introduced to “Big-L” through his cousin, “O.”
After the meeting with “Big-L” the couple was walking back to their car when they heard three gunshots but, according to the victim, she didn’t feel anything. Her husband said later, while in the car, she began to talk funny. That’s when she found the wound on her leg. She will recover and the case was turned over to detectives.
Here is one of those “life lessons” to remember: Either “catering” was a code word — or the catering business is way out of control. It might be a good idea to do business with other caterers who use actual names.
Was the owner’s name John Deere?
A man went to a home and told the owner that the lawn mower the owner had, was in fact his. The owner said he bought it from another man.
They got into an argument and, according to the owner, he suffered a broken light switch and a split lip, courtesy of the man who came for the mower. The accused man was given a copy of charges for simple battery and released on copy.
Thanks to cellphone, his number’s up
A pizza deliveryman went to an apartment to deliver a pizza. There was no answer at the door, but when he turned around he was struck by a man holding a stick. The suspect tried several times to hit the victim with the stick. The deliveryman yelled for help, attracting the attention of a nearby resident who saw the suspect run toward the pool area.
She came outside and assisted the victim, who had sustained a cut to the head.
The witness told officers that when she had arrived home earlier she saw a male, holding a stick, standing at the top of the stairway. When he saw her, he retreated to an apartment. This is believed to be the same guy.
As a result of Murphy’s Law, the suspect’s cellphone was dropped during the struggle and later taken as evidence.
You know this guy is kicking himself about right now.
With house guests like this …
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A victim told officers that he got into a fight with a house guest.
The victim, who accused the guest of stealing money, suffered a broken jaw when he was struck in the face with a bottle.
That wasn’t the end of it.
When the victim returned from the hospital he found his front door kicked in and $800 missing.
Clean out those cars!
You might take note that thefts from cars have increased over the past few weeks. Most are in places where cars are parked overnight, but almost all involve something that was in the car that could have been out of the car and in your house. Take your stuff inside when you get home. If not, use the trunk.
Other items:
— A man said his friend, visiting his apartment, took $350 from his wallet.
—A woman went to the bank to add herself to her husband’s account. The bank told her that her Social Security number had been flagged because someone was using it to write bad checks.
—A man reported his dog was stolen from his yard. The dog is a German mix. The dog is brown with a brown collar and is about 2 years old. The dog answers to the name of “Foxes.”
—A guy showed up for court on an unrelated case and was informed he was wanted on a warrant in Fulton County on shoplifting charges. He was taken to FC jail.
—Someone stole the victim’s mail from her mailbox. There were checks contained in outgoing mail. Always use a post office mailbox to send checks.
Curb appeal to passing yeggs
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A man reported that between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. someone entered his apartment by forcing the front door.
He reported the following missing: 32’ Samsung TV, Samsung home theatersSystem, Nikon camera, Kodak digital camera and a Sharp Handi-Cam.
The victim found a long screwdriver on his couch. He told the officer he had just purchased the TV.
Chances are someone saw him walking in with a new TV in a big box that says “TV” or saw him discard the big “TV” box in the trash and waited until he went to work the next day, then entered the apartment.
We’ve all passed someone’s house and see what they just purchased by the box lying on the curb to be picked up. It’s probably a pretty good idea to get the box cutter out and slice the box up so nobody knows what was in it. It saves room, too.
Say cheese: Forgetful shopper?
A woman went to a grocery store and placed the following items in her shopping cart: a cajun roast beef, horseradish cheese, Londonport roast beef, and Havarti cheese.
She covered these items with paper and paid for the other items in the shopping basket. She then tried to leave the store but was detained by an employee.
The woman told the officer and employee that she was sorry and would never do that again. She was given a trespass warning and released on a copy of charges.
If the bike doesn’t fit, you must quit
Officers were called to a theft in progress at a car wash. The caller said two men were attempting to steal a motorcycle.
They were trying to load the motorcycle into a green SUV. The two suspects drove to a nearby apartment building, where the police stopped them as they got out of the car. The men said they were just admiring the motorcycle. The officers told them the witnesses said otherwise.
Apparently, they had tried to load the bike in the SUV but it wouldn’t fit. They aborted the plan and left. Both were charged and sent to FC jail.
Court watch
A female selling magazines was checked by a police officer following a complaint call. The solicitor did not have a Fulton County permit. She was charged with Soliciting Without a Permit on a copy of charges pending a March 8 court date. Vegas is giving 3-1 odds she won’t show up.
I-Pod, you pod …
A 16-year-old victim said he made a deal with another male to buy an I-Pod for $150. The seller, who was in a white Lexus, took the victim’s money, and then drove away without giving the victim his I-Pod. The victim followed the seller to an address on Medlock Bridge Road and after confronting him, got the I-Pod. The victim then found out the I-Pod did not work. The seller is a student at Northview High School.
Teens pancake classmate at restaurant
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The victim said she was working at the pancake restaurant when two of her classmates from Northview High School came in. One said to her “You can’t fight now can you!” The suspect then grabbed her by the hair and pulled violently. The other girl punched the victim several times with a closed fist. The manager of the restaurant broke the incident up and the two suspect females left the scene.
If I find out who made that call …
Officers received a call of a person shot at an apartment. When they got there, they found 14 people but determined that no one had been shot. They did find crack cocaine and marijuana, smoking pipes, and individually wrapped crack cocaine rocks. People went to jail.
Thieves take cue, nab purse
A woman reported her purse was stolen from a billiards bar at about 3 a.m. She said that while she played pool, she left her purse at a table. Two females sat down at the table, then left. The purse was gone as well.
Talk about a light wallet
A cabbie said a guy stiffed him for $55 after he dropped the man at an apartment complex. The man gave the driver a wallet and said he had to get the fare from his apartment. The wallet wasn’t listed as, but probably was, stolen.
Two sides and a smack in the face
An employee of a BBQ restaurant filed a battery report that said during an employee meeting he was hit on the head twice by the owner of the business. He said he doesn’t know why the man hit him. The victim went home before calling the police some three hours later. The officer said he saw signs of injury on the man’s face.
Clear (very clear) criminal intent
A man walked straight into the store, walked straight over to the battery section, put a pack of Energizer batteries valued at $7.99 in his sweatshirt pocket and walked straight out of the store and into the arms of the store security person. He then walked straight up to the security office where he was held until the police officer arrived. He was given a copy of charges and released.
CSI means only trouble for us
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
We are under attack by trendy police shows. As if I wasn’t under enough pressure, now we have the CSI shows to live up to.
In “CSI New York,” the fashionable detectives who work in the low-light-accented trendy loft detective office have discovered a homicide victim in the park. They call for the fashionable lab people in the Fast Mobile Response Unit. They immediately show up.
Fashionable Lab Babe: “It looks like the victim was bitten by rats after he was killed. The question is, which kind of rat did this?”
Fashionable Detective: “How do we determine the difference?”
Fashionable Lab Babe: “First we take a hair from the victim’s ear and cross match it with every barber shop within a three-square mile radius of the murder scene. Then we divide by 7 — and the average number of “Hi Bobs” a college freshman could drink before passing out in 1978. That should give us a clear picture of whatever it was we were trying to figure out in the first place.”
Fashionable Detective: “How long will it take?”
Fashionable Lab Babe: “One, maybe two commercials.”
Fashionable Detective: “OK, I’ll take it from there. First, I’ll be magically taken back in time, with some high-tech sound effects to actually see the circumstances leading up to the death of the victim. I’ll be able to see who the killer was.”
The Fashionable Detective looks in the direction of the camera as the show fades to the next commercial. He looks lost in thought, but his hair is fabulous.
In the next scene the Fashionable Detective brings us up to speed on what happened during the commercial.
Apparently, they placed the location of the homicide when one of the older detectives decided to look in the wallet of the victim and found his ID and address.
As the Fashionable Lab Babe and Detective were analyzing blades of grass near the crime scene, the older detective drove to the address and found blood, bullet holes, a smoking gun and a guy holding the gun who said: “What the (%#$) took you guys so long to get here? I’ve wanted to confess for the last two commercials!”
I grabbed the remote.
(Click)
“Welcome back to “Law and Order, Special Victims Unit.” Our victims are special and we have special investigations. We’re special and have special clothes and guns.”
(Click)
“This week on “CSI-Miami:” The team of Horatio Caine and the funny and lovable Eric Delko tackle their biggest case yet as they try to solve the mystery of the Miami Dolphins’ offense.”
(Click)
“Next week on a very special episode of “Punky Brewster”….”
(Click)
“We now return to ‘Reno 911!’”
Finally, something I can relate to.
Creeps in your office
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
An employee said she had briefly walked away from her desk and upon return saw a man standing over it.
He said his name was Ray Freeman and he was here for an interview. She told the officer she knew of no interview but told the man to have a seat and she would check for him. The man said he wanted to tell his driver that he would be a few minutes . He grabbed a file from her desk labeled “Ray Freeman” and dashed out.
She then discovered that the man had been in her purse and had taken $60 cash.
These losers are known as “OFFICE CREEPERS.” They float office complexes and prey on front-office personnel who leave their purses or wallets either under or in the front drawer of their desk. The second favorite spot is a nearby file cabinet, top drawer.
Checks and balances No. 1
A guy walked into the bank and presented a check for $12,477.22 and asked the teller to cash it.
She verified the check and found it was fraudulent. He left, leaving behind his driver’s license. It’s not known yet if the license is valid, but for those of you who may be looking for a career in white-collar crime, if you present a check for a large amount such as the one above, they go to great lengths to insure the check is authentic.
It’s not like you’re cashing a $10 check someone wrote you for babysitting for an hour.
Checks and balances No. 2
A woman attempted to cash a $754 check on a phony Wachovia Bank account with a phony Georgia driver’s license.
Men: Don’t let the rest of us down on Valentine’s Day
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Today is Valentine’s Day.
If you haven’t gotten something for your significant person whom you should be getting something for, then read this part and then shut your computer off and run, at a high rate of speed, to some place where you can buy something significant for your wife or girlfriend.
You know as well as I that it is incumbent on the male to initiate the good tidings of Valentine’s Day. I don’t care if you think it’s fair or not, it’s the law.
Here is the last part you need to read before turning off the computer and running to the store: If you don’t get your (other) a good gift for Valentine’s Day, you have an 84 percent chance of being the victim of retaliation in the near future.
This means that something bad will happen. That something could be anything. Now leave and buy something good.
Here are some things you don’t need to give your honey for Valentine’s Day:
1. A coupon for Madam Tinkerbell’s Big and Tall Shop
2. A free pass to the Waffle House Museum in Norcross, Ga.
3. Pit passes for Jello Wrestling Night at any local exotic dance club
4. Weight Watchers Startup Kit
Following through on your obligation on Valentine’s Day means that on February 15th we will have 35 percent fewer domestic violence reports of male victims.
Buy a nice Valentine’s gift; we all win.
Dear Esquire Hodges, I can help protect those foreign funds
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Despite your tech guy’s best attempts to keep scams out of the company e-mail, they sometimes leak through. Here’s one I received and my helpful response.
Kindest Attention,
I am Michael Hodge in London, my late client an expatriate was killed in an unknown circumstance and before his death had some unclaimed treasury bills (Bonds) with a vault Company in Europe. I decided to search for any of my late client’s relative which has been very difficult to me before those treasury bills (Bonds) get confiscated or declared unserviceable by the vault company because they have given me a mandate to present any family heir to my late client.
As the decease is from your country and also bearing the same surname with you this is why I am writing to you so that I will assist you claim this consignment. I will prepare every operation that will assist your claim. The treasury bills (Bonds) will be released to you within 10 working days after you have filed in for claims.
I look forward to your quick reply.
Sincerely,
Mr. Michael Hodge, Hodge & Hodge associates
I decided to write back to Mr. Hodge:
Mr. Michael Hodge, Hodge & Hodge Associates
Dear Mr. Hodge:
I am responding to your letter regarding your late client who was killed in an unknown circumstance. In the United States, many surnames are exchangeable with other surnames. According to federal law, we are required to abbreviate the word “surname” to “name” after six months. The person whom you contacted has exchanged their name with mine so now I am the person who is able to help you. I am happy to read that you will assist me in claiming the money.
According to more federal laws, we cannot receive any foreign funds into this county unless the following questions are answered. Please match the following names with bills:
Benjamin Franklin $5 bill
Abraham Lincoln $10 bill
Ulysses S. Grant $20 bill
Frank Zappa $25 bill
Benny Hill $30 bill
A guy named Biff $50 bill
Once you successfully match the above names and denominations, please contact me for your free video containing the secret handshake. Please bring the money in unmarked quarters only. You will be given a location to meet me. The location is located in California. It’s a resort area of Los Angeles known as Compton.
We will meet on Chester Street just after midnight on a Saturday in August. You will be greeted by our associates known as the Chester Street Crips. In this country Crips means “Welcome New Friend.” I also will be on hand to greet you.
I look forward to our new meeting and financial friendship!
Regards, Chuck Roast
Just showin’ a little love
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
At about 3 p.m. the police were called to meet with the victim who said the suspect, who was present, struck him in the head.
The suspect said he didn’t strike him in a provoking manner, but rather gave him several “love taps” on the top of this head. The victim didn’t show any signs of injury but wanted to prosecute. Dr. Love was charged with simple battery and released on a copy of charges pending a March 22 court date.
The part where Det. Rose offers some sage advice
Officers talked with a stabbing victim who told them the following:
While arguing at an apartment, he told his fiancée that he was going to leave he. She took one of her boots off and struck him in the face and head.
She continued hitting him, then grabbed him by the throat and started to choke him and bite him. He was bitten several times on the arm, neck, chest and on the other arm.
Crimefighters
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This is a place that’ll remain open for everyone to share advice and tips on how to reduce your chance of being a crime victim.
