Police Blotter: Cabbie Robbed, Assaulted By Customers

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SANDY SPRINGS, GA -- 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 — not all — of the incidents that occurred March 26-31:

Robbery

• Wentworth St. and Roswell Road, 30342, 3/26: At 3:30 officers met a 56-year old man who said he was assaulted by a short white male, while dropping off two customers at Carriage Gate Townhomes near the Glenridge Connector. The victim, a cabbie, had some facial swelling under his eye and mouth. The victim said he picked a white male and female up at Churchill’s Pub in Buckhead. The fare was $25. One of the men went into the apartment and returned with a credit card that was denied. He paid with $40 cash but got mad when he assumed the driver gave him the wrong change. Both subjects were extremely intoxicated (big surprise). While they were arguing, another male, who came out of nowhere, punched the man through his driver’s window, then removed the victim’s keys, then attempted to steal the money back. The passengers then yelled at the other male to give the money back. After it was over, the driver left and then noticed the suspect who hit him, dropped his iPhone 6 on the floorboard. Not surprisingly, the phone began to ring repeatedly (worried assailant?) and because he didn’t want to be tracked, the victim turned the phone off. The phone was turned in and the case is being investigated.

Burglary

• 1000 block Balmoral Road, 30342, 3/28: Appliances were stolen from two new homes. The include a Bertazzoni rang, hood/insert, wine cooler, refrigerator, microwave, and other items. This occurred sometime between 3/26 and 3/28.
• Landsdowne Drive, 30342, 3/29: Someone entered the home through a forced kitchen window. The victim said he received an alert from his home’s motion detector. He returned two hours later and checked his home video showing a man, who he knows, entering the home through the window. The suspect is a relative who used to live there. He believes the same man is responsible for several more. The burglary is under investigation.
• 700 block Fair Oaks Manor, 30328, 3/30: A side carport door and a back door leading to the home as well as a storage area were both kicked open. Outdoor tools and other items were taken. Two men were later detained by an officer while walking near Heards Ferry Road and Riverside Drive just after. It isn’t known to investigators if or not they are connected but they will compare video to see. Ongoing investigation.
• 4600 Roswell Road, 30342, 3/30: The resident reported her apartment was burglarized. Several items including an iPad and MacBook Pro were taken.

Thefts

• Chemin De Vie, 30342, 3/26: A 2003 Infiniti FX, black, was taken from the victim’s driveway. The victim added that a 2010 Lexus RX-350 was also taken. Both cars were unlocked and both cars had their keys inside.
• 6650 Roswell Road (Goodwill), 30328, 3/26: A 78-year-old woman reported that while shopping, she was approached by a white female who began talking to her and according to the victim, made her feel uncomfortable. She later found that her wallet had been stolen from her purse. The suspect was tall, in her 50’s, wearing prescription glasses.
• 7 Concourse Pkwy, 30328, 3/26: A 2010 Chevy Silverado Crew Cab truck was stolen from the lot at the Westin Hotel.
• Recovered Stolen Vehicle: 300 block Fountain Oaks Lane, 30342, 3/28: A blue 2007 Toyota Tacoma was located from alongside the curb. The VIN showed it to be stolen from DeKalb County.
• Tara Trail, 30328, 3/28: A 51-year-old man reported that two watches were stolen during an real estate open house at his residence. They were taken from the master bedroom.
• On March 28, a man reported that while working out at Lifetime Fitness at 5600 Roswell Road, someone stole his backpack and contents including his iPhone 6 plus and clothes. The GPS showed the phone nearby but they were never able to pinpoint where it was.
• 8331 Roswell Road (Kroger), 30350, 3/29: A 72-year-old woman said someone took her wallet while she was shopping. The wallet was in the purse inside the cart.
• 6074 Roswell Road, 30328, 3/29: An employee of a retail store said another person stole her iPhone 6.
• 1155 Mt. Vernon Hwy, 30328, 3/29: A man reported that he was in LA Fitness and his locker was entered and his gym bag and contents are missing.
• 5000 block of Cross Gate Drive, 30328, 3/30: Someone entered the backyard and patio area of a home and took a 55-inch TV from the patio area. This happened between 2:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. It appears the suspects who took the TV broke it during the theft and it is pretty clear, by what was left behind, that it no longer works.
• 200 block of Belle Isle Road, 30342, 3/30 (11:30 a.m. to 5:14 p.m.): Someone entered the home by forcing a deadbolt on the front door with a pry tool. Missing are two laptops and three weapons.

Thefts From Vehicles

• 2500 block Monterrey Pkwy, 30350, 3/26: Rims and tires
• 6300 Powers Ferry Road, 30327, 3/26 (Suspect: white male, 5’7”): outside Publix, nothing taken
• 6300 Powers Ferry Road, 30327, 3/26: pistol
• 5100 blk Peachtree Dunwoody Road, 30342, 3/27: $74, cellphone; 14-year-old male arrested
• 7700 block of Stratford Lane, 30342, 3/28 (Suspect: black male, older, slender, beard, ski cap): gym bag with laptop taken.
• 900 block of Pitts Road, 30350, 3/28: laptop
• 780 Johnson Ferry Road, 30328, 3/28: softball equipment
• 850 Mt. Vernon Hwy, 30328, 3/28 (Baptist Church): purse and contents
• 600 block Willow Heights, 30328, 3/29: laptop (movers suspected)
• 6300 block Roswell Road, 30328, 3/29: cash
• 1155 Mt. Vernon Hwy, 30328, 3/29: key
• 1900 blk Island Ford Pkwy, 30350, 3/30: Items not listed
• 230 Hammond Drive, 30328, 3/30: purse, MP3 player, JBL Headphones, Ray Ban sunglasses
• 450 Morgan Falls Place, 30350, 3/30: backpack
• 6900 block Roswell Road, 30328, 3/31: nothing taken/car alarm activated

Assault

• 1100 block of Mt. Vernon Hwy, 30328, 3/28: A 28-year-old female said her AIU classmate named Robert, repeatedly punched her in the face. She had just met him on the incident date. They were on dinner break and she offered to take him with her to Chick-Fil-A. When they got there, he stumbled and she thought he may be ill. She offered him some food but he then lashed out and hit her five to 10 times before the restaurant staff intervened. The suspect fled on foot. After a lookout was given, an officer spotted the man and detained him. He told a different version of the event saying that they went to the Chick-Fil-A and she offered up some weed which they smoked in the car. It made him sick and he requested she take him to the hospital but instead she gave him some peanuts. He admitted punching her just after introducing the peanut defense. He was arrested but not before asking the officers to follow up on the marijuana thing — which they did. She denied smoking with him, but then admitted it when they found a couple of small bags of marijuana in her purse. She told them it was synthetic marijuana. She was charged on copy for possession less of an ounce.

Fraud

• A 67-year-old man reported on the 27th that he received a Facebook message from his cousin asking if he heard of the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Grant, or CFDA. The message said he won $150,000 (this should be making you suspicious) and he needed to send $1,000 for a tax-clearance fee (This should be making you really, really suspicious). The winnings would be delivered by UPS. He was asked to send his DL and phone number to claim the money. NOTE: the cousin’s name was in fact his cousin’s, but it had been cloned and the person posing was the scammer. He was told to contact Agent Sandra Michael‘s Facebook Page and send the money to her in San Marcos, Texas (nice house on Google Maps). Capt. Steve Rose says: The good news is that he never sent the money but did send the copy of the DL before getting suspicious. He asked the “cousin” how another relative was doing, knowing the relative had been dead for two years.
• Target employees reported that on March 28, two men purchased gift cards using fraudulent homemade checks. One man was in his 20’s wearing a brown plaid shirt and used the name Eddie Villaronga. The other guys used the name Dadrian Ruiz. He was in his 20’s, and wore dark pants and a blue plaid shirt. Both were black males. The car was a Chrysler 200 with a Kentucky tag.
• 5000 block of Peachtree Dunwoody Road, 30342, 3/28: A doctor received a call from a pharmacist regarding a prescription that did not match the others that the doctor writes. An internal audit was done and it showed that a medical assistant has been stealing and forging prescriptions for Tramadol, hydrocodone, and oxycodone since February of last year, adding up to about or over 1,000 prescriptions. The case is under investigation.
• 5200 block of Roswell Road, 30342, 3/28: A doctor said that he discovered one of his employees was printing false prescriptions and forging his name. It looks like the employee forged prescriptions for Percocet on at least three occasions since January. The employee was fired after admitting the forgery. That case is under investigation.

Other Things

• On Wednesday afternoon someone called in that on I-285, it appeared that three either turkeys or chickens were attempting to cross the road. One was reported dead.

Arrests

• 2700 block of Spring Creek Lane, 30350, 3/26: Around 2:20 a.m. cops were called regarding suspicious activity and possibly a theft from auto. They were given a description of two males, wearing a black and a red hoodie, seen around a car in the Grogan’s Ferry Subdivision. The first responding officer radioed that the suspect’s car, a black Charger, fled the location but had crashed at Grogan’s Ferry and Adair and the two suspects were absconding on foot. One was located walking on Roswell Road near the QT. He was stopped and detained. The other officer confirmed it was the same person he saw in the Charger at the time of the suspected theft. Cops later found a couple of cars broken into. K-9 was called to pick up the scent and track the other suspect but he was not located. The suspect in custody was charged with at least two counts of entering auto. He was arrested. The Charger, with Rhode Island plates, was impounded.
• 8725 Roswell Road (Publix), 30350, 3/26: Store staff observed a white female pushing a shopping cart with about $100 in items contained, right out the door without paying for them. She said she was going to load them in her car, then return to pay for them. During her shopping spree, the woman had downed a couple of small bottles of wine and munching on a Publix sandwich and some chips, all unpaid for. She appeared to have a good buzz going courtesy of the wine. She was arrested.
• 5570 Roswell Road, 30342, 3/26: A female was detained and later arrested at Target after taking $363 in items including a comforter, towels, cleaning supplies, an air mattress and other goods. She was arrested.
• 8745 Roswell Road, 30350, 3/28 (McDonald's): The manager called regarding a disorderly woman who brought a drink into the restaurant. She was asked to leave it outside. The woman threw the cup onto the floor, then picked it up and threw it at the complainant. She then walked out. A nearby officer located her walking nearby. He recognized her because she had created a disturbance the previous day. She was arrested.
• 1155 Mt. Vernon Hwy, 30328, 3/30: Sports Authority staff called the police after spotting a man walking through the men’s athletic section, taking items and concealing them on his person. He left the store and walked to Five Below and then out across the lot towards the MARTA lot. He continued behind the lot and onto the lawn of 1155 Perimeter Center West. Officers found him hiding behind shrubs nearby. He had stashed the stolen items before his arrest. He told officers he’s homeless and from Greensboro, North Carolina, and on probation in Atlanta. He’s charged with taking three shirts and some shoelaces ($64). He was taken to Northside Hospital for an evaluation because he said he’s bipolar and had not taken his medication. He was later transferred to the jail.