Pair Used Website To Lure, Steal From Man: 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 Sept. 12-14:

Burglary

• 1000 block of Hammond Drive, 30328, 9/12: The complainant said he was residing at the Extended Stay Hotel. Around 2:30 a.m., he witnessed two subjects, male and female, burglarize the front desk area of the hotel, after hearing noises from that area. As he approached, he heard noises from the back room area, where he witnessed a white male, wearing all black clothing, Chuck Taylor shoes, and a female, also dressed in all black, absconding in a hurry, from that area. He noted the lock was broken and had been for a while. The male was said to possibly be an Albino and the female had a “funny walk.” The complainant followed for a bit, but lost sight. A box labeled "cash box" was taken along with the $500 contained in the box. Capt. Steve Rose says: Two things come to mind, one, fix the (^@(%$^) lock! Secondly, instead of labeling the box “cash box,” which translates to “steal me,” don’t label the box or, if it needs a label, cover it with HazMat tape with the word Anthrax written in a Sharpie. Don’t forget the exclamation points at the end.
• 5400 block of Glenridge Cove, 30342, 9/12: The resident said he was gone from Sept. 11-12 due to no power when someone forced a window and entered his apartment. Several items were stolen.

Theft

• A 37-year-old woman lost her wallet during lunch in the 900 block of Hammond Drive. She returned to the restaurant but the wallet was gone.
• 6285 Roswell Road (Pier 1 Imports), 30328, 9/12: The reported reported a theft, witnessed by staff and customers. Two men entered the store while one stood outside next to a dark green Jeep Cherokee. The two men walked around a bit then grabbed four Magnolia rugs and a throw blanket, then dashed outside and tossed the rugs in the car. The car’s getaway driver then took off. The suspects are described as follows: two black males, one with a gray baseball hat with blue bill, black short-sleeve shirt, black shorts and white shoes. Suspect 2 wore a black and white baseball hat, black shorts and black and white “Keds” type shoes. His hair was bleached blond.
• 6500 block of Roswell Road, 30328, 9/13: A 53-year-old man said he met a woman on the website “Meet Up.” She took an Uber in and they met at the CVS on Roswell Road (scroll below to the "Arrests" section).
• 500 block of Mason Creek Drive, 30350, 9/13: A 30-year-old man reported that he ordered an Apple iPad Pro from Best Buy to be shipped to his address. Postal folks delivered it, unsecured at his residence, resulting in the theft.
• 6000 block of River Chase Circle, 30328, 9/14: The resident reported his wife’s car was stolen from their residence overnight.

Thefts From Vehicles

• 900 block of Crestline Pkwy, 30328, 9/12: Unsuccessful attempt
• 5500 block of Roswell Road, 30342, 9/12: AirMac Computer
• 4500 block of Roswell Road, 30342, 9/12: Backpack and clothes
• 1000 Johnson Ferry Road, 30342, 9/13: Bag and clothing
• 5665 Peachtree Dunwoody Road, 30342, 9/13: Gym bag, Kindle Fire, medication

Other Things

• I enjoyed meeting the folks on Rivercliff Drive Wednesday evening for The Annual Rivercliff Fall Cannonball Festival, with appearances from the SSPD, MARTA Bomb Squad and Chief DeSimone himself, who worked the crowd, posed for photos and chit-chatted with the residents before leaving in his custom Ford Explorer. A local couple hosted the event to celebrate the six cannonballs that were recently purchased at a local garage sale. Like all lethal explosive devices, the cannonballs were strategically placed in a plastic bucket to shield the masses from any explosive episode. The MARTA Bomb Unit officer, complete with his fall designer bomb uniform, arrived and began the march through the crowd, signaling the beginning of the Handing-the-Bombs-Off ceremony. Following a short speech, the cannonballs were turned over to the bomb unit members who ceremoniously led the procession to the Holy Disposal Truck before leaving with all in attendance waving goodbye. Following the ceremony, the police returned to answering calls while the fire department stayed behind for burgers and hot dogs, because, well, they have a lot of time to do stuff like that. Booyah!
• Okay, what really happened, according to SSPD Sgt. Sam Worsham: A citizen bought Civil War-era cannonballs at a yard sale and returned home. Her husband worried they may be explosive and contacted the department. Based on erring on the side of safety, SSPD called in an Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit from MARTA. They took the cannonballs to determine if they were safe.
• 6110 PDR, 30328, 9/12: A Florida man and his mother staying at the Comfort Suites Hotel due to the mandatory evacuation from Florida reported to the clerk that their room was leaking due to the heavy rain. They were relocated to a smaller room but with no leak. They went to the desk and spoke to an employee. Somewhere along the way, an argument ensued and, according to the complainant, the employee came around the desk and splashed water on him from a wet umbrella, then retreated behind the counter. The argument continued and the employee swung the less-wet umbrella, missing the target but striking the counter. More arguing. Again, the employee came around the counter wielding a wet umbrella. An employee stepped in and stopped the action. According to the complainant, the general manager refused to consider the complaint.
• A 35-year old man reported he found three accounts in his name that he knew nothing about. He learned of them when a collections firm called. Capt. Rose: What do you do? Well, you’ll need a report so that you can provide it to the credit reporting agencies. Freeze that credit, let the fraudulent account holders know that the report was written, and provide them with a copy if needed.
• A 60-year-old man said someone made five purchases on his Nordstrom’s credit card. The
  charges were at Perimeter and Phipps for $638, $417, $492, $572 and $784.
• 400 block of Barrington Hills Drive, 30350, 9/13: Cops were called to check on a naked man walking through the apartment parking lot. The complainant said the man was naked while attempting to change a light bulb. He was not arrested due to his inability to answer simple questions, but rather taken for evaluation at Northside Hospital.

Arrests

• 8725 Roswell Road, 30350, 9/12: Publix staff detained a 45-year old man who took six vanilla extract bottles, poured the contents into a water bottle and left the store. He was later charged with the $28 theft.
• Following a traffic stop on Dunwoody Place, the officer ran the tag, supplying information
  on a Suzuki. The problem was that he was behind a Nissan Maxima. Stop was made and the driver and passenger switched places, assuming they were invisible. Inside the car a 2-year old child was not in a car seat or even seat-belted. The driver was cited multiple times and a car seat was located for the child.
• 7840 Roswell Road, 30350, 9/13: A woman wanted for forgery in Chambers County, Alabama, was arrested and taken to jail for transfer.
• Cops arrested a hit-and-run perp following an accident just before noon Sept. 13 at Roswell Road and Trowbridge Road. The man got out of the car, retrieved a package and fled. Two officers rounded him up a few minutes later, and the K-9 rounded up the package, previously discarded by said dummy. Marijuana was involved. The suspect told cops he just left the probation office where he checked in on his probation for driving with a suspended license. He also had an outstanding warrant for failure to appear on a DUI in Gwinnett County. The other driver, pregnant, was slightly injured and seen at Northside Hospital, then moved to Labor and Delivery to be checked out. Word is that she was okay.
• A 30-year old man called police and filed a stolen car report (See “thefts” above). He met the
  suspect on “Meet Up” website. She arrived in what he thought was Uber, but the driver was actually a co-conspirator. The woman and victim retreated to his home in the 6500 block of Roswell Road where they had drinks, had sex and where the victim passed out. The following morning, he woke to find his car, cellphone, laptop, and several bags missing, along with the woman. He activated Find My iPhone app and traced the phone to the Extended Stay Hotel at 1050 Hammond Drive. He called the police. The officers met him at the hotel. He identified the “Uber” car, a white Mercedes, parked in front of room 303. The clerk confirmed that car was registered to the guest in 303. During that time, the Mercedes’s car alarm activated and a man, identified as the Uber driver, exited. Officers spoke to him, and he confirmed the car was his and he recalled meeting the victim on the previous night. The officers ran his information that came back showing a warrant for burglary and unlawful use of personal information in Sacramento, California. He told the cops the woman was inside the room. They spoke to her, noticing that she appeared to have been beaten about the face. The woman agreed to speak to the cops. When the victim saw her, he identified her as the same woman he was with the night before. The room had a pungent smell of marijuana, resulting in a search warrant. The woman was wanted for larceny in Gwinnett and DeKalb counties. About the injuries, she said her pimp (Uber driver) beat her because they screwed up the burglary the night before. She admitted that she and the co-defendant meet males on “Meet Up” or any other means and steal from them after she has sex and the victim is asleep or drunk and passed out. The male suspect was charged with burglary, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute (a little over a pound), possession of a firearm during the commission of certain crimes, aggravated assault (strangulation) false imprisonment and pimping. The woman was charged with burglary, the marijuana charge and the firearm charge from a .22 gun found in the room.

Image via Sandy Springs Police Department