Local News
Police (Off)Beat | Light strapped to forehead gives copper thief away
- A 59-year-old Atlanta man wearing a "light strapped to his forehead" was found to have copper ripped from a building. Along with tools of the trade – gloves, reciprocating saw and pliers – he also had stolen "Willa Way" and "Claire Terrace" street signs.
- A woman across the street from Mother Margaret Psychic Reader told DeKalb police she didn't forsee the pantsless man that accosted her.
- When a Clarkston woman went to jail, an acquaintance took her flat-screen TVs, couches, tables, chairs, washer, dryer, clothing and beds. When she was released, he offered to bring it all back to her home. Now he's the one in jail. I bet he misses those TVs.
- Things you can learn reading police reports: "Shooter" is slang for a crack pipe and Atlanta hookers charge $10 for regular sex, $20 for oral sex. An undercover police officer who tried a lower price was told "Hell naw, this is 2011."
- How much is a stolen AC unit worth? Two units stolen from The Lakes apartments in Clarkston were illegally sold for $700, about half of what they cost new.
- Another pantsless naked man fled from Cobb police when approached at Poplar Place apartments in Kennesaw.
- A man "loitering" on the wing of a private jet parked at McCollum Field in Cobb County was asked to leave, but returned and was seen trying to get into another aircraft. He took off before police arrived.
- A DUI suspect clawed her way through the bathroom ceiling at WellStar Cobb Hospital. She's charged with a felony for the damage, and a misdemeanor for telling the cop her name was the same as a woman who fell out of the W Hotel.
- The manager of a fast food restaurant in Alpharetta had a husband and wife who argued with him about their order arrested for trespassing.
- One of several women involved in a scrap at Underground Atlanta tried to grab a police officer's gun during the scrum. "I am gonna grab this gun and shoot these [bleeps]," the woman allegedly yelled. Most of the women were not "rational enough to make a statement" but police wrote it seemed to be a fight between a group of nightclub waitresses and bar promoters.
- A woman in the parking lot of an Atlanta Home Depot was approached by a man in a gold Mercedes who said he works for Best Buy and could get her an iPad for $300. She gave him the money and he dropped her off at Waffle House while he went to get her new tablet computer. He never returned. Also reported missing was her new Android phone, which she'd given him so they could stay in touch. Good luck with that.
- An employee of the Consulate General of Mexico in Atlanta was stopped on Jonesboro Road and jailed for not having a license. He told the arresting officer he'd been here more than 10 years and had never had a license for Georgia or any other state.
- An Atlanta man told police he broke up with his girlfriend but she has his credit card and has spent $216 at Taco Bell and gas stations.
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.
