Violent Armed Robbery; Fatal Methadone Overdose: Blotter

Editor's note: the following incidents were taken from the Sandy Springs Police Department's Weekly Wrap Up compiled by Capt. Steve Rose. This week's wrap up contains some of the incidents that occurred June 27 through July 5

Homicide

• 8142 Old Woodbine Road, 30342, 6/27: SSPD continues to investigate the homicide of 71-year-old Kay Thomasson inside her home on Old Woodbine Road in the early morning hours of June 27. Her car was stolen and later found in an apartment complex in Chamblee. The suspect is a black male, medium build, who wore dark clothing. There is a $12,000 reward offered for the information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for the murder. Anyone with any information is urged to contact the Sandy Springs Police Tip Line at 770-551-3300.

Burglary

• 500 block of Cutwater Trail, 30328, 7/2: The resident reported someone went into the garage overnight and took a bicycle, described as a Specialized Arial Sport mountain bike valued at $700. Their Ford Escape, parked in the driveway, was also rummaged through and a door left ajar. The suspect had opened the garage door.
• 100 block of River Springs Drive, 30328, 7/5: The resident indicated she was out of town when a neighbor called to tell her dog had gotten out of the home. She returned home to discover that several items were missing from the home. No signs of forced entry were found and no crime scene was evident following the cleanup by the resident.

Robbery

• 5801 Kingsport Drive, 30342, 7/2: The victim said she works as a leasing agent at the complex. She told officers she was checking a vacant apartment and was inside one of the bedrooms when she turned around to find a man described as a black male, about six-feet tall, wearing a white shirt and jeans. The man struck her in the face, knocking her to the ground. The man then grabbed her purse and fled. She told the cops that she had just received her child support payment and had $1,700 cash in the purse, as well as a debit card, medical insurance cards and her work Visa.
• 8325 Roswell Road (Exxon), 30350, 7/5: A woman approached an officer at QuikTrip and told him the Exxon had been robbed. The complainant told the officer the suspect was a black male in a red shirt and had a gun. The officer drove to the scene where he found two Exxon employees who told him that they were inside the store doing a shift change when a man came into the store. They described him as a black male, about 50 years old, about 6'4'', and about 165 pounds. The man wanted to redeem a scratch-off ticket. They told him they were changing shifts and he would have to wait. The man pulled what appeared to be an old rusty .38 snub nose and came around the counter. He took about $300 and then tried to usher the two employees to the cooler. One of the employees suddenly reached for his personal gun that was under a counter, causing the suspect to flee from the store.

Thefts

• 8100 block of Roswell Road, 30350, 7/2: A woman reported that she attended a meeting around 4 p.m. About 45 minutes later, she discovered her wallet missing. Two transactions had already completed on her debit card at the nearby QuikTrip on Roswell Road, totaling just under $300. The victim recalled walking to the front of the meeting room while leaving her purse in her chair.
• 795 Hammond Drive, 30328, 7/2: Stolen car; gone since June 19.
• 600 block of Old Cobblestone Drive, 30350, 7/3: The resident reported someone stole mail from his mailbox on May 28. A bank card was stolen. He reviewed his video and found that the suspect was in a white Chevy four-door sedan with the tag removed.
• 500 block of Northridge Road, 30350, 7/3: The resident told police someone forced a padlock off a utility trailer (6 x 12) and removed several tools from it.
• 600 block of Preston Woods Drive, 30328, 7/4: The resident said sometime between midnight and 7 a.m., someone removed his Audi A6 from the parking space in front of his apartment. The car was locked. A rummaged-through backpack belonging to the victim was found nearby.
• 1500 block of Summit Springs Drive, 30350, 7/5: The resident reported that a guy named “John” whom she met on the Plenty of Fish dating website stole her car. They went to her apartment and according to her, she fell asleep around 9 p.m. and woke about two hours later. John and her car were gone. She does not know John’s last name (probably “Smith”) nor where he lives, etc. She added his online dating info did not contain a photo. She said she didn’t really know where she picked up but it was somewhere near LaVista Road. Capt. Steve Rose says: I’m not a big fan of online dating, mostly because I don’t date online; mostly because my wife said I couldn’t date online — or offline for that matter. This is not an uncommon scenario. True, there are lots of successful relationships and marriages via online dating but if you are considering online romance, remember that you should probably get the essentials such as last names, address, photos, long medical history, criminal history, driving history, fingerprints and a saliva swab for DNA purposes.

Thefts From Vehicles

• 8 Concourse Pkwy, 30328, 7/1 (Concourse Athletic Club): laptop, phone and brown work bag.
• 5600 block of Kingsport Drive, 30342, 7/2: Family friend helped load a car and is now
  suspected of stealing $8,000 from a bag taken from the car. Nothing as to why so much was in the bag.
• 4600 block of Roswell Road, 30342, 7/3: Catalytic converter cut from under a school bus at Crème de la Crème.
• 549 Northridge Road, 30350, 7/3: Tools taken
• 300 block of Spindle Court, 30328, 7/3: Microsoft Surface Pro and golf clubs taken overnight from unlocked car.
• 9800 block of Huntcliff Tr, 30350, 7/3: Two chainsaws and a leaf blower taken from work vehicle work bed.
• 8 Concourse Pkwy, 30328, 7/3: North Face backpack, Timberland briefcase and MacBook Pro taken. Window forced.
• 600 block of Abingdon Way, 30328, 7/4: Car rummaged through but nothing taken.
• 200 block of Peachtree Hollow Court, 30328, 7/4: Wallet taken from unlocked car.
• 6900 block of Roswell Road, 30328. 7/4: Purse and contents taken overnight from unlocked car.
• 100 block of Mt. Vernon Cir, 30328, 7/4: Unlocked car was entered and rummaged through but nothing was taken.
• 5500 Interstate N. Pkwy, 30328, 7/4: There were four cars broken into; numerous items were taken while occupants were tubing down the river.
• 1165 Perimeter Center West, 30328, 7/4: Shoppers placed several items in the truck and then returned the cart. During that time, someone took purse, contents, and CD’s from inside the truck.

Fraud Reports

• 5995 Barfield Drive, 30328, 7/2: Complainant said her son’s driver's license was accessed from records at a medical office.
• 800 block of Jefferson Drive, 30350, 7/2: Victim sold an iPhone to a person in Sarasota, Florida, via Facebook and Paypal. He discovered the Paypal account used to pay for the phone was fraudulent. He contacted UPS but the package had already been delivered.
• 2500 block of Spalding Drive, 30350, 7/2: The victim said an account with Good Sam’s Camping World was opened in her name in early May.
• 1125 Hammond Drive, 30328, 7/2: Check forgery, the victim said someone cashed a check from his Bank of America account for $1,500 using his account and routing number.

Assault

• 6575 Roswell Road, 30328, 7/1 (Steak N Shake): The floor manager for the restaurant said a new employee was told to train on the computer in the back of the building. She found him up front in the dining area, so she told him to return to the training duty given to him. She said the new employee told her he would shoot her and fight her or anyone else in the way. The new employee was checked and it was learned that DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department had a warrant for him for probation violation.
• 5906 Roswell Road, 30328, 7/1: A woman said a man, who assaulted her in January and was ordered not to come anywhere near her again, located her at her job site. The officer investigated the area but did not locate the man. He applied for and received a stalking warrant. Later, around midnight, the officer was
  checking the area near 5700 Roswell Road when he spotted the man in question. He arrested him and transported him to jail pending a court appearance.

Other Things

• 5100 block of Roswell Road, 30342, 7/2: A 35-year old woman called police to report that her roommate had stolen 40 milligrams of methadone and needed a report to replace the drug. She said her roommate took the methadone and was sleeping. The officer checked the woman and found her near death. He contacted EMS and fire personnel who responded, but despite efforts to revive her, the 37-year old woman died. The case was turned over to the Criminal Investigations Division.
• 6900 block of Roswell Road, 30328, 7/2: A 36-year-old woman said her car was hit in her parking lot in January. She contacted her insurance company that day and was told she needed a report. She said between Jan. 25 and July 2, she has been in and out of the state and just hasn’t had a lot of time to get the report. Capt. Steve Rose: So, when I take over the world, and you wait this long for a police report, you will not get one. It will have an expiration date.

Arrests

• 5898 Roswell Road, 30328, 7/2: Misdemeanor drug arrest
• 8745 Roswell Road (McDonalds), 30350, 7/2: Long story short on this one is as follows: Man gets food at McDonalds. Goes to his car and eats. Comes back inside to refill his drink. Another man gets up and tells him he cannot do that. The second man says he’s the McDonald’s manager’s husband. An argument ensues and the husband of the manager head-butts the other man. The head butt(er) was cited for disorderly conduct and released on copy of the charges.
• 8725 Roswell Road (Publix), 30350, 7/5: Publix security folks stopped a woman who placed items valued at $210 in her shopping bag. She put the bag in the cart’s seat, and placed her purse over the bag. The woman said she wasn’t thinking clearly due to being recently released from the hospital. She was cited for shoplifting, given a criminal trespass warning, and released on a copy of charges.

Image via Sandy Springs Police