VaHi Safety Team Report: February 11, 2013
By: John Wolfinger
I know, I know – it has been a while since I issued a report. As Zone 6 converts to a new reporting format, I am still waiting for 2013 week 2 – so this report only includes 2013 week 1.
Gunfire From Piedmont Park
Thanx to an inquiry I received from a Virginia Hill condo resident – my friends at MPSA helped me get this Zone 5 report about this incident.
“On 2/5/13 at 9:57p.m. I SPO Bunyan and Ofc. Zemaitis responded to a call at Charles Allen Drive and 10th Street. There we met SW who reported someone was shooting inside the park. According to S. she had just walked out of the Grady High School premises at 929 Charles Allen Drive when she observed a black male standing on the opposite side of the school entrance inside the park. S said she heard several gun shots and saw the black male pointing his hand in the air. At the end of his hand she saw fire which made her realize he was actually firing a pistol. S described the suspect as a short black male wearing grey pants, black jacket and a black skull cap. She was unable to give the suspect direction of travel as she was hiding behind a car for safety.” No word yet as to more news from this active investigation.
Then the next day, 2/6/2013, a 911 call was placed from the Virginia Hill condo building when a resident found a hole in the outside wall of his unit and a bullet lodged in a wall opposite the entry point. This may or may not be part of the same gunfire incident in the park.
There were no injury reports filed following this incident, thank goodness.
Carjacking Incidents Arrests
The arrests announced this past Friday may be as important as the arrests of the Jack Boys as the investigation continues as to this crime rampage. Look for more news as this unfolds. There were no local victims that I know of.
http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/6-charged-string-carjackings/nWJ8D/
Residential Burglaries
I do not have the Zone 6 reports yet – but there has been a rash of home break-ins in the past few weeks. I have heard of reports on Todd Road, Highland Green Way, Highland View, Barnett Street, PDL Terrace and an unsuccessful attempt on St. Charles Avenue. A PDL Terrace neighbor provided a description of the suspect there – a black or hispanic male, 5’9″ to 5’10”, wearing a grey sweatshirt and a black baseball cap. When I have more details of these incidents, I will let you know.
We have not had many home break-ins in quite a while – but these recent incidents show that you need to let neighbors and FBAC know when you are going to be away, keep your alarms set when you are away from home, make sure ALL doors and windows are securely locked, and keep all your outside lighting set to be on after dark.
The following reports are from APD Zone 6 crime stats for 2013 week # 1 (12/30/2012 – 1/5/2013) from our VaHi Beat 601. Again, I state, these reports are not meant to scare anyone, but to make you aware of what happens around us everyday.
Aggravated Assault – No reports from Beat 601
Auto Theft – Vehicles were stolen from Cresthill Avenue and St. Charles Place.
Commercial Burglary – The China Dragon restaurant on PDL Avenue was entered via a broken out front window with only the tip jar cash taken.
Residential Burglary – No reports from Beat 601
Commercial Robbery – No reports from Beat 601
Residential Robbery – No reports from Beat 601
Larceny From Vehicle – Vehicles were broken into on Amsterdam Avenue, PDL Avenue, St. Charles Avenue and Virginia Avenue. This is one crime category that we all can help to prevent by remembering the Clean Car Campaign – that is keeping ALL parked cars cleaned out at ALL times.
Larceny Other – No reports from Beat 601
Nearby at the PDL Avenue Publix store, the arrestee was seen taking a bottle of cooking sherry into the men’s room. He drank it all and threw the empty bottle in the trash can. That must have been quite a rush!
Pedestrian Robbery – No reports from Beat 601.
I have not heard of any such reports from the BeltLine lately – but still, keep yourself aware and alert on this path and keep those personal electronics hidden in your clothing.
APD has just released a January success report at – http://www.atlantapd.org/files/greatesthitsjanuary.pdf
Stay Alert and Aware!!!