Local News
Police (Off)Beat | Burning desire to commit insurance fraud
By George Mathis
Feb 10, 2011- A Marietta couple living on Shannon Way got fire insurance the same day their house caught fire. Unfortunately for them, an investigation indicated the blaze occurred hours before they called Amica for an insurance policy.
- A woman appearing in Cobb court with her husband -- he who was facing charges of driving with a suspended license and no insurance -- was charged with forgery after the judge noticed she altered the date on Liberty Mutual documents to "prove" her betrothed had insurance on the day he was ticketed.
- An Atlanta woman was charged with misdemeanor child cruelty after admitting to police she forced her 7-year-old daughter to stand on the balcony or lie under the bed while she had sex with men for money.
- A Smyrna woman left her 6-month old child unattended to go get some smokes. She too faces misdemeanor child cruelty charges.
- A Sandy Springs woman told police she got an e-mail from Bank of America asking her to provide her banking information. She was later alerted that someone from Romania was attempting to withdraw funds.
- A woman living on Barrett Creek in Cobb County reported someone broke into her home, stole lingerie and vacuumed the floors.
- A Decatur trucker stole the credit card of his co-driver to rent cars for more than a month. He also paid his $237 Sprint cell phone bill. The trucker, who has warrants for his arrest in Florida and Americus, hauled tail for parts unknown.
- Tiny bottle drinking problem: Delta Air Lines contacted Atlanta police, requesting an officer remove a contract employee who was caught "stealing liquor" from planes.
- In one day, a Harrison High student managed to fleece his Kennesaw classmates of $107, an iPod and a Target gift card. He hid the procured goods atop a ceiling tile in the men's bathroom, where police later found an additional iPod and gift card.
- An Austell man, upset that his girlfriend had broken up with him, smashed her printer, flatscreen TV and $2,500 bed, police said.
- The boyfriend of a Woodstock woman used her debit card to buy a PlayStation 3 and several games from Target and Best Buy. He's in jail and she has a PS3 that won't be used until she gets a new boyfriend.
- Is it against the law to exercise? A suspected Sandy Springs drug dealer tried to elude police watching his apartment by climbing over his balcony railing and dropping to the ground below. When police grabbed the dangling man, he claimed to be doing pull-ups.
- A 22-year-old Woodstock man used his company's credit card for gas in his personal vehicle, which he used to drive around town and exchange his employer's tools for drugs, police said.
- Atlanta police were called to a homeless shelter to deal with a man whose "unruly behavior was prohibiting other residents from sleeping." The man was "loud, chewing on a bottle and speaking in an unknown language," police said. He was pepper sprayed and taken to Grady after becoming combative. No reports on how long it took folks to get to sleep after all that.
About the Author
George Mathis has worked in the AJC newsroom since 1999 in a variety of roles including editing local news, blogger and columnist.
