Neigborhood Watch Warns of Armed Robbery Gang in Midtown-Ponce Area

A Midtown neighborhood watch group is alerting people who live, work, and play in the area about recent robberies perpetrated by a group of three criminals.

According to FOX 5 Atlanta, the Midtown Ponce Security Alliance (MPSA) has released Atlanta police incident reports of several robberies which occurred in their jurisdiction during the month of July. Three of the incidents involved a gang of two armed men and a getaway driver.

The Aug. 10 MPSA report says that the group first struck after midnight on July 4 at the intersection of 9th Street and Argonne Avenue. A man was walking along the road when a black SUV pulled up to him. Two men exited the vehicle and robbed him of his wallet and iPhone at gunpoint. The SUV then fled the area heading south on Argonne Avenue.

After 3 a.m. on July 10, a man pulled into a parking lot in the 900 block of Monroe Drive and began texting someone when the three robbers found him. An off-duty policeman who was in the parking lot noticed the commotion but could not assist the victim because the victim was between him and the robbers. The victim told police that two men, both armed, exited the vehicle and managed to steal the man’s cell phone before he started yelling for help. The police officer could not give chase because he was using his personal vehicle at the time, which was not equipped with lights or sirens.

On July 13 after 1 a.m., a couple was walking in the vicinity of 10th Street and Argonne Avenue when they were accosted by two black males in dark clothing. The men were armed and demanded the woman surrender her purse, but she refused. Police suspect the two men then left the scene in a vehicle that had passed by the area and was last seen heading east on 10th Street.

The three crime scenes are located within six tenths of a mile of each other, with the Argonne Avenue crimes being committed within sight of Piedmont Park, while the robbery on Monroe Drive occurred adjacent to Grady High School.

Since the July 13 incident, the Atlanta Police Department has reported 30 additional robberies in Midtown’s Zone 5, with seven in the immediate vicinity of Piedmont Park. The most recent robbery on the department’s crime map was reported on Aug. 1 in the 800 block of Peachtree Street.