Man Cleaning Gun Shoots Himself In Leg: Blotter

Editor's note: the following incidents were taken from the Sandy Springs Police Department's Weekly Wrap Up compiled by Capt. Steve Rose, which contains some of the incidents that occurred Oct. 28 through Nov. 3:

Burglary

• Cedar Run, 30350, 10/29: A 21-year-old woman said sometime overnight someone came into the unlocked apartment and stole an Xbox gaming system.
• 6000 block of Park Avenue, 30342, 10/30: Someone shattered a back door (glass) and entered the home where they took a laptop, phone charger and several checks. In addition, several other burglaries were reported on this road. Neighbors said they saw a red car park nearby at the wood line at about the time of the burglaries. Two men got out and walked around the incident area but were not seen committing the burglary.
• 5200 block of Mt. Vernon Hwy, 30328, 10/30: A resident called police and told them her black Audi was stolen from her garage just after 7 p.m. She said she looked out of the window and saw her car driving off, followed by a small silver Mazda. The car was unlocked and the garage door open. The Audi has a push start system.
• 5900 block of Roswell Road, 30328, 10/31 (Sprint): Responding to an alarm, cops found that the store had been burglarized by someone who entered an empty storefront at 5980 Roswell Road, then made a hole through the drywall and into the store’s bathroom. Taken were a number of JBL and Onyx speakers from the back room.
• 5555 Roswell Road, 30342, 11/1: The resident said someone came into her home and took checks from her safe. She recalled that back on Oct. 12, she noticed her apartment door had been tampered with and found a window open. She did not notice anything out of place and thought nothing more of it until the bank contacted her on Oct. 31 to say her checks had been used.
• 5900 block of Hilderbrand Drive, 30328, 11/1: The resident said someone took her weed eater, chainsaw, and leaf blower from her carport.
• 144 Allen Road, 30328, 11/3: A woman reported that someone has been coming into her apartment when she is gone and stealing items. She said stamps, photos, and water have been stolen. She said they left pubic hair in her refrigerator. Capt. Steve Rose says: Well, that’s quite enough. Move on.

Thefts

• 5866 Roswell Road, 30342, 10/28: A 40-year-old man reported his 2010 Lexus LS460 car was stolen from the front parking area of the Shell Station. The victim said he was gone from the car for only a short time. The car was turned off but the keys were inside and it was unlocked. Somehow, someone managed to figure out how to get into, then start the car, and drive away.
• 9700 block of Huntcliff Trace, 30350, 11/3: A landscape employee said he and his crew left several tools near the roadway. A car drove up and a black male exited and took a chainsaw and trimmer, then drove off. He was in a brown Toyota Camry with tinted window.
• 5479 Glenridge Drive, 30342, 10/29: The 21-year-old owner of a 2011 Nissan Sentra reported the car stolen overnight on Oct. 28.
• 6500 Roswell Road, 30328, 10/30: A 28-year-old woman reported she accidentally left her phone on top of a mirror. She told cops she believed another woman took the phone. She directed the officers to the other woman, who was now at another store at 6649 Roswell Road. The person suspected of the theft was described as “less than cooperative,” but allowed her pocketbook to be checked. No phone. She left the location. Later, the Publix at Abernathy and Roswell roads informed officers that someone turned in a phone that turned out to be the victim’s.
• 6425 Roswell Road, 30328, 10/31: Cops were called to the Spirit Halloween store just after 4 p.m. They met with a woman who said that while she squatted down to help her son try on a costume, she heard someone come up to her and bump her, causing both to fall to the ground. Her purse also spilled during the fall. She interpreted it as an accident but later when she went to pay, her wallet was missing from her purse. She said the woman who bumped into her was Hispanic, 20 to 30 years old, long black hair and wore a red plaid shirt, jeans and a lambskin vest. As the victim realized her wallet was gone, she went outside and saw the woman enter a car, described as an older red sedan, occupied by an older woman, around 50, and two children. She canceled her cards before they were used.
• 227 Sandy Springs Place (Kroger), 30328, 11/3: An 83-year-old woman said while shopping someone took her wallet from her purse. She did not see the suspect.

Thefts From Vehicles

• 6050 Roswell Road, 30328, 10/28: Tag
• 900 block Crestline Pkwy, 30328, 10/28: black male observed hitting the window, left in a silver Lincoln MKZ driven by another black male with dreads.
• 1100 Hammond Drive, 30328, 10/30: Duffel bag and contents
• 1155 Mt. Vernon Hwy, 30328, 10/30: Nothing taken
• 500 Abernathy Road, 30328, 10/30: Laptop
• 145 Northwood Drive, 30342, 10/31: Tools
• 700 block of Abernathy Road, 30328, 10/31: Laptop and gun
• 740 Abernathy Road, 30328, 10/31: Wallet and contents (suspect is known)
• 600 block Hightower Trail, 30350, 11/1: Gun
• 5800 block of Roswell Road, 30328, 11/1: Purse, $200 cash, credit cards, DL
• 1160 Hammond Drive, 30328, 11/1: Laptop (HP) and laptop bag
• 5600 Roswell Road, 30342, 11/1: Swiss Army backpack and Lenovo Think pad, Hyphy headphones
• 6900 block of Roswell Road, 30328, 11/1: Baggage
• 5600 Roswell Road, 30342, 11/2: Laptop, iPad
• 5900 block of Garber Drive, 30328, 11/3: Briefcase and school supplies
• 5400 block of Clair Rose Lane, 30328, 11/3: Backpack, JCV speaker, plus landscaping tools.

Other Things

• We’re getting into the holiday season so here come the secret shopper frauds: A 36-year-old woman received a letter from The Secret Customer. The letter contained a check for $3,575.98 from the Datalock, Co. in LA. The letter gave specific instructions on what to do, which you may already know: deposit the check, keep most for the Secret Customer shopping and send the balance by way of a check from your account to the address given to you. Hopefully they’ll convince you to wire the “balance” before the bank tells you the other check was fake. It looks like family members recognized the scam and stopped her from completing it.
• A 24-year-old woman in the 6900 block of Sandy Springs Circle reported on Oct.31 she had
  listed a cabinet for sale on Craigslist. “Melissa” contacted her via text on Google Voice. Melissa sent a cashier’s check from Palmetto Citizens Federal Credit Union in Columbia, S.C. for the amount of $1,750. She was instructed to keep $750 and send the balance of $1,000 to a Walmart wire address. Unfortunately, she did so and sent the money to a Walmart in St. Mary’s, Ga., before suspecting she had been scammed.
• Emory St. Joseph’s Hospital, 10/29, 30342: Officers were called to the ER regarding a person shot. They were told the man came into the ER, driven by his roommate, with a gunshot wound to his right leg. The man said he was drinking Vodka and Budweiser and cleaning his .25 caliber pistol when it discharged a bullet into his leg. Officers went to the man’s apartment on The South Chace and found the gun as well as some marijuana. The man was later charged with reckless conduct and disorderly conduct.
• A 71-year-old man said he had an existing loan with Barclays Bank. He received a call from
  someone claiming to be an employee of the bank, who told him that the bank mistakenly placed extra money in his account, at a separate bank, and asked him to deposit those funds ($787,000) into another account in that separate bank. That bank contacted him and said the call was a fraud, that the money had been stolen from a trucking company. The man did not lose any funds in the attempted fraud.
• A 20-year-old man reported he was a victim of extortion. He told cops he received a Facebook
  friend request from a woman named “Sandy” whom he did not know. They talked back and forth and exchanged Skype screen names and later video chatted. Sandy later told him she accessed his computer and now possessed photos and videos of a “lewd” nature, and would send the photos to family and friends (good old Facebook) if money was not sent to her. He was told to send $400 to an address in the Philippines via Western Union. He was later told to send another $400. He sent $400 but reported the incident prior to sending the rest.

Arrests

• Following a traffic stop on Oct. 28 on I-285, the driver was arrested for an outstanding warrant from Athens for probation issues. A warrant from Elberton Police Department also existed.
• A 21-year-old man was arrested after officers found him on the side of I-285 asleep in a Ford Taurus. After several attempts to wake him (banging on the window), he woke and said he was okay. Right about that time, the cops discovered the car was stolen from Milwaukee on Aug. 23. The registered owner was the man’s ex-girlfriend, whom he said he made payments to for the car. Capt. Rose: Brothers and sisters out there let me tell you the gospel on ex-whatever. Making a financial deal with an ex is a deal with the devil. It is the Venus flytrap of revenge. There are many cars to be bought. Don’t buy one from your ex! I should not even have to explain that to you!
• 6000 block of Harleston Road, 30342, 10/28: A 56-year-old man said his roommate punched him in the face following an argument in the living room. The victim’s eye was bruised and swollen. The roommate said someone else did it, although his fist was swollen. The argument was over a football game and something about being disrespectful. The suspect was charged with battery. Of course, now, the suspect said he had chest pains and off they went to the hospital. There, he told the doctor he had suicidal thoughts so they left him at the hospital for evaluation. Later still, the hospital called and said he was no longer needed for care. This obviously didn’t sit well, so the suspect refused to climb out of his hospital gown and into his clothing. He was cuffed and escorted to the police car where he did the “fall-down” routine, invented by a prisoner some 1,000 years ago, and again, it didn’t work. He was finally placed in the jail.
• Adair Lane and Barrington Hills Drive, 30350, 10/29: Officers responding to a suspicious-person call at an apartment complex were told a female had entered the leasing office during business hours and solicited money she said she needed for her child. The woman looked to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs and was not a resident. The officers later found a woman matching the description in the company of a male walking in the parking lot nearby. The officers stopped and told the pair they wanted to talk. The male then ran. The female remained. The male was eventually scooped up and returned to where the officers were stationed. Officers later found just under 400 Xanax tablets in the woman’s possession. Both were charged with narcotics violations.
• An officer said he was checking a hotel lot around 12:30 a.m. when he saw a man and woman sitting in a car filled with smoke, a la Cheech and Chong. They were later cited for misdemeanor marijuana charges.

Image via Sandy Springs Police Department