VaHi Safety Report: September 29, 2014
By: John Wolfinger
A Flasher Among Us
There have been two different reports of a flasher in the neighborhood. The first report on the 9/27 NextDoor and VHLIST message boards from Brookridge Drive at Orme Park describes the suspect vehicle as a gold Honda Odyssey minivan that drove back and forth until he exposed himself in front of a female jogger, who was reported as having called 911 with the license plate number.
The second report was on the parent’s VHMPA message board on 9/29 reporting a similar vehicle where the driver exposed himself to a male and his children on Lanier Boulevard. This report thought he was maybe a w/m, but does not state as to whether 911 was called.
Does anyone know the female jogger victim at Orme Park who supposedly called 911 with a license plate number, so we can share this info with everyone? Let me know, so we can have a complete description of what to be looking for. In the meantime though, if you spot a similar vehicle with the similar behavior – please call 911 with as much descriptive info as you can provide.
For those of you (like me) who would not know what a Honda Odyssey looks like – check this link. http://www.thecarconnection.com/cars/honda_odyssey
The following reports are taken from our APD Zone 6 (http://atlantapd.org/Zone6.aspx) VaHi Beat 601 reported incidents for the 2014 weeks 36, 37 and 38 (8/3 – 9/20). These reports are not meant to scare anyone, but to let you know what happens around us everyday, so you can be alert and aware.
Aggravated Assault: No reported incidents from Beat 601.
Auto Theft: A 1996 Honda Accord was taken from Greenwood Avenue. A 2001 Volkswagen Passat was stolen from Maiden Lane. A 2005 Mitsubishi Galant was taken from Highland Terrace with a suspect, but no word of an arrest.
Commercial Burglary: A rental unit at Extra Space Storage on Kanuga Street was broken into via the door shattered by a brick.
Residential Burglary: A home on Bellevue Drive was entered via a broken rear window, with several items taken.
Commercial Robbery: No reported incidents from Beat 601.
Residential Robbery: No reported incidents from Beat 601.
Pedestrian Robbery: No reported incidents from Beat 601. However, these such robberies are continuing elsewhere in the Zone – with cell phones still being grabbed, or taken at gunpoint.
Larceny From Vehicle: Vehicles were entered on Lanier Boulevard (briefcase), St. Charles Avenue (textbook and laptop), Virginia Avenue (laptop and miscellaneous papers – a witness saw this incident, but the suspect escaped on foot). St. Charles Avenue (3 guitars), Los Angeles Avenue ( 2 I-pads, 2 cameras and a backpack), PDL Place (bicycle), Virginia Avenue (dash ripped out – but nothing taken), and PDL Avenue (2 Ohio license plates taken). Keep checking behind your car to make sure you still have a license plate.
All around the Zone in this time period there were 105 such theft incidents reported – who knows how many such thefts were NOT reported. Nearby at the corner of Somerset and North Avenue, $5000 in cash was taken from the console of a pickup truck. The owner had locked the doors, but left a side window open. Just sayin’ that if I ever had $5000 in cash – I sure as heck would not leave it in my vehicle.
Larceny Other: At the MJQ Club on PDL Avenue, a patron felt someone’s hand in her handbag – they took her cell phone. At the Intown Hardware a male in an old SUV pulled up to the outdoor grill display and loaded one up in the back of his vehicle. An employee asked if he had paid, he answered “yes” and while the employee went inside to check – the suspect drove off with the grill. I hate to see such a nice business being taken advantage of.
There were two front porch package thefts reported – one on Frederica Street and the other on St. Augustine Place. PLEASE, PLEASE take advantage of the free and safe delivery service offered by Intown Hardware on North Highland and Morningstar Storage and Urban Body on PDL Place. All you have to do is go by one of these friendly local merchants and sign up to use their safe address for your intended packages to be delivered to. They will even call you when you have a package to pick up. If you have friends or neighbors who are not aware of this service – please let them know – and insure that their packages are safely received. We can so easily stop this kind of theft and not give these thieves a reason to roam our streets looking for packages to steal.
Nearby at the Edgewood Retail District, a Lowe’s customer put down her wallet and (you guessed it) when she returned it was gone. Also at Edgewood at the Kroger store, a male took a bottle of wine to the men’s room and was found slumped on a commode. At all of the Edgewood stores in this time period there were 18 cases of shoplifting with several arrests made, especially at Target and Kroger. One of the Kroger thieves put a gallon of ice cream in his pants, but was caught. That would be a chilling experience to say the least. There is evidently an opening at the Best Buy for a new employee – one rang up a $749.99 item for $79.99 and was caught.
Lawn care companies continue to lose equipment from unwatched trucks and trailers. Please warn your lawn care guys of this danger.
Remember the Clean Car Campaign – ALL parked cars are to be cleaned out at ALL times.