Police Blotter: Man Robbed, Assaulted at MARTA Bus Stop

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 Sept. 13-20:

Robbery

• 5320 Roswell Road, 30342, 9/13: A 34-year-old man reported that around 2 a.m. to 2:30 a.m., he was waiting for the bus at the MARTA stop in front of the Southern Trace Apartments. He pulled out his wallet to get his MARTA card and was then assaulted by two men who took his wallet and cellphone. The wallet contained $600 cash. Both were described as black males. One was in his mid-30’s, about 5’8”, was black Jordan hoodie, jeans, slim and had some facial hair. The second one was in his late 30’s, about 6’2,” was wearing black sweats and black hoodie, but had no facial hair.
• 8300 block of Roswell Road, 30350, 9/14: A 35-year-old woman said she was in her car at the Chase ATM just after 10 p.m. making a deposit and withdrawing cash. She saw a man behind her after she withdrew the cash. She said the man was described as a dark skinned black male who wore jeans and a blue hooded sweatshirt. The man then approached her and pulled a gun, demanding the money and other belongings. He reached in and pushed her, then took the money that was in her lap as well as two iPhones and her wallet and contents. After robbing her, the suspect walked north in the parking lot so she drove near him and tried to pin him in next to a wall. In response, he ran to the rear of the car and fired the weapon at her before fleeing into the wooded area. The victim was not hit but the car was hit twice. She then drove to a nearby phone and called police. Capt. Steve Rose says: Wow, this one could have gotten ugly quick. Let’s review: First of all, avoid night transactions if at all possible. This was a drive-up ATM so the first thing you want to do is have eyes on everything around you before the transaction. Most of the robberies with this scenario begin with the bad guy approaching from the back so check the mirrors constantly. If you see someone approach, you have the option to drive. Use it. Card in the slot? Leave it and cancel it within minutes. After action should not include following and then confronting the man with the gun who just robbed you. Shots were fired. As much as we like money, it’s only money and not worth an early exit from this wonderful world, so remember: cooler heads prevail.

Burglary

• 100 block of Northwood Drive, 30342, 9/13: Around 3:30 a.m. four crooks broke into a business, pried open the front door, and went inside. They tried but could not get into the register room. They left in a small white pickup.
• 200 block Sandy Springs Circle, 30328, 9/13: Brooklyn Café reported someone forced a rear door leading to the restaurant. Inside, the man tried to open the safe but failed. He rummaged around for a while, then walked to the bar area, returned and left just before 5 a.m.. He returned just before 6:30 a.m. with a circular saw and again tried, unsuccessfully, to open the safe. He eventually found an undisclosed amount of money and left.
  5841 Roswell Road, 30328, 9/13: The Las Tortas Locas restaurant reported someone got into their safe after forcing a back door into the building. The safe was open, having been opened with the keys that were lying on a shelf next to the safe.
• 1000 block Gettysburg Place, 30350, 9/13: Storage unit
• 8700 block of Roswell Road, 30350, 9/14: Responding to an alarm, officers found that a building had been burglarized. 911 updates from someone watching the CCTV indicated two black males were inside the location trying to get into the safe. Further updates indicated they were now out the door and into a car. The car headed up a hill about the time one of the responding cars entered the same hill and drove down the driveway to the North River shopping center. They met head on. The suspects reversed and escaped the parking lot on the north end and drove north on Roswell. Cops lost track of the suspects shortly thereafter. Video review showed the two suspects using a large crowbar, prying the front doors open. They made a bee-line to the safe behind the counter, spending about eight minutes trying to open the safe that contained nothing. The suspects got nothing. They left some fingerprints and a glove behind.
• 201 Northwood Drive, 30342, 9/14: Around 12:30 p.m. the resident was upstairs when she heard a noise from her bedroom. She saw a person wearing all black just inside the sliding glass door. The suspect fled. He left behind a steak knife on the apartment balcony.
• 800 block of Starlight Drive, 30342, 9/14: The resident said sometime between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. someone entered the residence, going through a number of drawers in different rooms. Missing is a computer.
• 5800 block of Northside Drive, 30342, 9/14: The resident said between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. someone entered the home through an upstairs bedroom window. The burglar apparently cut himself, leaving behind some blood in several rooms. A field phone company employee told her that a male had just left the residence and got into a red vehicle, possibly a Jeep Cherokee. She recognized the person as a friend of her daughters and noticed he had blood on him. He was able to get away. Detectives obtained his information and are investigating.
• 7000 block of Marsh Ct., 30328, 9/15: The resident said their cars were in the garage of their home overnight. The garage door was left open. The next morning they discovered someone had entered both cars, left unlocked, and taken several items. Rose: This is really a theft from a car, but because they were in the garage, it is coded as a burglary.
• 5400 block of Glenridge Drive, 30342, 9/15: The resident said that he arrived home just after 8 p.m. and found that his 50-inch TV was missing from his bedroom. Another TV was stolen from the living room. No forced entry. He was out of town for several days and said he girlfriend had a key but he emphasized strongly, that he did not suspect her.
• 700 block of Starlight Drive, 30342, 9/20: Someone forced entry to a back door and entered the home. Nothing was taken.

Thefts

• 2000 block Treelodge Pkwy, 30350, 9/13: A 31-year-old woman said she was evicted and during that time, several pieces of jewelry as well as an iPad and Samsung tablet were missing.
• 8000 block of Gables Lane, 30328, 9/13: A woman said she was evicted from her apartment and later found that a gold pendant, inscribed with the initials “BMF,” was gone.
• 5966 Roswell Road, 30328, 9/15 (Dollar Store): A 73-year-old woman reported that just before 1 p.m. she was shopping when a man approached her, telling her that he was blind and needed help picking out a thank-you card. She helped him but noticed another man going through her purse. Both men fled with some cash and her credit cards. She said they were both black males, heavy-set and were wearing dark clothing.
• 295 Mt. Vernon Hwy, 30328, 9/15: An employee said he was re-stocking a candy rack and placed his $700 cellphone on the rack. When he walked away, someone stole the phone. He went to the store video and saw that a black male wearing a black and white T-shirt took the phone. The man later purchased an item with a credit card. The card information was turned over to detectives.
• 5000 block Riverview Drive, 30342, 9/19: Four Lenox AC units were stolen from a home under construction.
• 4920 Roswell Road, 30342, 9/19: A 42-year-old woman reported that she was at Kroger and placed her wallet in the shopping cart. During that time, someone stole it from the cart. She didn’t realize it until she went to pay. Her cards were used in Gwinnett County soon after.

Thefts From Vehicles

• 6189 Roswell Road (Enterprise) 30328, 9/13: 2016 Dodge Ram
• 5580 Roswell Road, 30342, 9/13 (Lifetime Fitness): 2005 Ford F-150
• 100 block of Stone Mill Trail, 30328, 9/14: unlocked/nothing taken
• 7700 block Roswell Road (Publix), 30350, 9/14: tag
• 7000 block Dunhill Terr, 30328, 9/14: unlocked/$80 cash and change
• 6600 block Castleton Drive, 30328, 9/14: unlocked/nothing missing
• 6700 block Castleton Drive (x2), 30328, 9/14: unlocked/nothing taken
• 100 block Greyfield Lane, 30350, 9/15: tag
• 7100 block Dunhill Terr 30328 9/15: unlocked/nothing taken
• 7000 block Marsh Ct., 30328, 9/15: unlocked/$15 in coins, radar detector
• 6690 Roswell Road, 30328, 9/15: forced window/purse taken
• 780 Johnson Ferry Road, 30342, 9/15: tag
• 6800 block of Sunny Brook Lane, 30328, 9/16: Panasonic Lumix camera
• 980 Hammond Drive, 30328, 9/16: .45 caliber gun
• 227 Sandy Springs Place, 30328, 9/16: hubcaps
• 200 block of Treelodge Pkwy, 30350, 9/16: ex-boyfriend stole wallet
• 900 block Crestline Pkwy (Homewood Suites), 30342, 9/16

Assault

• 7000 block Roswell Road, 30328, 9/13: Two male roommates got into an argument over the power bill. One man threw something at the other man, hitting him in the face while he was in the shower. It ended up with one of the men cut with a kitchen knife requiring some staples in the arm. One man was charged with aggravated assault and the other with simple battery.

Fraud

• A man on Stone Mill Trail said someone opened an account at Regions bank using his personal
  information. Someone then tried to transfer $1,000 into the account using his credit card. The attempt was unsuccessful. The suspect’s phone number and e-mail address was turned over to detectives.
• 8000 block of Roswell Road, 30350, 9/14: A 23-year-old woman reported that a friend of hers who stayed at the residence overnight stole an $835 check, forged his name on it and then cashed it the following day using his real name.
• 6900 block of Roswell Road, 30328, 9/15: A 27-year-old woman said she received a voicemail and call from someone saying he was Officer Adam Gardner, badge IRM05732, and referenced a case number of CP1073T concerning the fact that she owed $11,000 to the IRS. The man said he was coming to put her in jail and had a search warrant. She could avoid all this by paying some of the amount immediately. He asked for bank information but she said she was not comfortable with providing that, so she purchased five $100 iTunes cards and provided the numbers to the fake agent. She then called her attorney who told her to call the police. By the time she figured out she was had, they had redeemed all but one of the cards.

Other Things

• A woman said she was approached by a man as she walked along Peachtree Dunwoody Road. The man said she was beautiful and asked for her number. She told the officer she was rather creeped out by the guy but gave her phone number to him out of fear. Days later she saw the man again in a parking lot. The man followed her for a bit before she returned home nearby. She said he has texted her several times and she has requested he stop and that she has called the police.

Arrests

• 1000 block of Brentwood Way, 30350, 9/15: A cab driver for Sky Taxi said he picked up a male, an employee at the McDonald's on Holcomb Bridge Road and drove him to Brentwood Way. The fare was $14.50. The man said he didn’t have the money, but would get it from the apartment. The cabbie took a photo of the man who then walked towards an apartment with the driver following. The man then broke into a run and fled. The cab driver had the man’s first name from his McDonald’s name tag. The officer contacted McDonald's and was given the last name, address and date of birth. The officer spoke to the person at the address who said the man stayed there and would return shortly. A while later, the man returned and the officer arrested him for theft of services.
• 8725 Roswell Road, 30350, 9/17: Around 6 p.m. officers responded to the Aladdin’s Restaurant on a disturbance call. The manager said a man came into the restaurant asking if he could charge his phone. They said sure. At some point, the man walked behind the restaurant’s public area turned over a container of grease. He then became loud and belligerent so they kicked him out. He went to the nearby Arby’s which is where the officers found him. The employees of both Arby’s and Aladdin’s gave him criminal trespass warnings not to return. The officers asked for his address to take him home (he was drunk — go figure) and this caused him to become belligerent towards the officers. Off he went.
• 6300 Powers Ferry Road, 30339, 9/21: Around 10 p.m., an officer made a traffic stop. Inside the car was a male driver and female passenger. The man’s driver's license information showed he was on probation for armed robbery. The officer smelled marijuana in the car and told the man he was going to check inside the vehicle. The passenger was asked to step outside as well. A second officer arrived. While checking the car, the officer found a gun, which is a big no-no for convicted felons. The convicted felon, upon seeing this and while being cuffed by officer number two, took off running. The officers and K-9’s looked for him but to no avail. The gun turned out to be stolen from DeKalb County. An Apple laptop was located and found to be stolen from Hartford, Connecticut. The female passenger was charged with theft by receiving stolen property. The driver is being sought — probably with the help of the female who he ditched.
• Back in February, officers were called to the Wyndham Hotel on Powers Ferry Road regarding items
  found in a guest’s room. The guest, Shantelle Walker, had been arrested. The staff later came into the room and found several items consistent with forgery including a high-end scanner, used and unused
  gift cards and expensive clothing. Detectives found a connection to her and at least one forgery at Saks in Atlanta. She was located in Pennsylvania and arrested, then extradited to Georgia earlier this month. The probation that she was on was revoked.
• Detectives, investigating several thefts from cars in August, tracked a phone to an address in Lithonia and following a search warrant, recovered some of the stolen property and arrested 20-year old Cedric Mykal Smith.

---

Image via Sandy Springs Police Department