Crime reports

The following section of crime reports is gleaned from our Zone 6 crime stats with emphasis on our Beat # 603, but with reports from all around our Zone as they apply to us. These are not meant to scare anyone, but to let you know what happens around us everyday, and to let you alter your daily activities to avoid becoming a victim. We have to remember that we live in the middle of a big city and awareness and alertness should be on everyone’s mind. This report covers weeks # 30 and 31 of 2009.

• Aggravated Assault – At 2:50 a.m. on Elizabeth Street in Inman Park, the female victim ran out to the street to confront a perp that had just punched a lock on her car. The perp jumped into an SUV with 2 other males, as the victim approached the vehicle to get a license number, one of the guys pointed a gun at her as they sped off. No injuries reported.
• Auto Theft – A car stolen from Drewry Street was chased by Zone 3 into Cabbagetown where it crashed on Wylie Street, S.E. The driver ran and escaped capture. Four cars were stolen from parking areas at the Edgewood Retail District. Locally, vehicles were stolen from Amsterdam Avenue, Barnett Street, Park Drive and Virginia Avenue. The following report is unusual to say the least – on Monroe Drive, a driver had taken medication and was feeling dizzy, so he flagged down two people and asked them to drive his car to a gas station so he could call a friend for help. At the gas station he went to the restroom and when he came out – you guessed it! – his car was gone.
• Commercial Burglary- The storage facility on Monroe Drive in Piedmont Heights reported 4 different units being entered and the same type of facility on Cheshire Bridge Road reported one unit being entered.
• Commercial Robbery – At the PDL Avenue Kroger, staff members attempted to detain a shoplifter when he pulled a knife on them. He fled on foot and no injuries reported.
• Larceny From Auto – Vehicles were entered on Barnett Street, Drewry Street, Highland View, Lanier Boulevard (2), North Virginia Avenue, PDL Avenue (3), St. Charles Avenue, Virginia Avenue (2), Virginia Circle, Greenwood Avenue, Los Angeles Avenue, North Highland Avenue (2), and Vance Avenue. Of these 18 incidents, 8 owners were neighborhood residents and 10 were visitors. Each one of these incidents represents tying up the reporting officer for nearly an hour each time – time they could have spent patrolling. Yes, I know sometimes empty cars are entered, but the thefts are crimes of opportunity and most are the direct result of thoughtless behavior on the part of the car owner. We have to be alert even while doing the simple things of life – a PDL Place resident was unloading groceries from her car, left her purse in the car and it was taken. Around the Zone, a case of tequila was taken from a delivery truck on Seminole Avenue, N.E., and in an East Atlanta restaurant parking lot 29 pounds of seafood were taken from another delivery vehicle. All around Zone 6 in this time period 4 more handguns were added to the arsenal on the streets, 4 license plates were taken off, 5 in-dash radios were ripped out and twenty-two GPS systems were taken, along with scores of Ipods, cameras, cell phones, briefcases, laptops, etc.
• Larceny Other – At 10:40 a.m. at the tennis store at Ansley – two males grabbed handfuls of clothing and escaped. A locked bike was taken from the rack in front of the Ansley LA Fitness. On PDL Place at 11:30 p.m. property left on a car bumper was stolen. At Fellini’s Pizza on PDL Avenue an unwatched purse was taken from a chair. At a Citgo store on Cheshire Bridge Road, an h/m put a 12 pack of beer into a duffle bag and tried to leave without paying – the clerk locked the front door til the police arrived for an arrest. Wicker furniture was stolen from a Monroe Drive front porch. Urban Outfitters on PDL Avenue caught two shoplifters. At the PDL Avenue Kroger, an 80 year old female left her wallet on the checkout counter for just a minute and it was stolen. A UPS package was stolen from Cooledge Avenue – please use Intown Hardware for a safe delivery address. Tell your neighbors about this neighborly service and prevent these thefts. All around Zone 6, a/c units continue to be stolen. Business owners take note – at a Glenwood Avenue, S.E. Phillips 66 store at 2 p.m., the employee victim walked out with a bank deposit – it was grabbed and the thief fled in a car – $9874 was lost!!
• Residential Burglary – At the Briarcliff Summit building on PDL Avenue – an apartment door had scratches but no physical evidence of damage, but entry was made somehow. There were two separate apartments entered at the Virginia Highland Apartments on Virginia Avenue. All around Zone 6 in this time period – entry was made via kicked-in doors eleven times and doggie doors were used for entry in two other burglaries. You may think your pet door is too small for a thief to enter – think again!!
• Pedestrian Robbery – At 2 a.m. a lone male walking home on North Highland Avenue from a bar saw a b/m male walking ahead of him. The perp suddenly turned around, made a verbal threat and the victim threw his billfold on the sidewalk and continued walking northward to home. At 11:45 p.m. on PDL Avenue, an h/m was robbed at gunpoint by four h/m pedestrians who fled into the night. At 9 a.m. on Piedmont Circle, an Intown Suites resident was robbed at gunpoint while he was taking out his trash basket.

Stay alert and stay safe!!