News and Notes
Apologies
for the delay in this report. I have been awaiting the report for week 27,
which did not arrive until July 16th.
The Unexpected Upside of Double Key Locks
Some
of you may have read about the attempted burglary on St. Charles via our
Nextdoor social network. On July 13th around 5:15pm a
man broke a basement window and tried to steal a bicycle. What he didn’t
realize is that the basement door required a key to open it from the inside as
well as the outside. As a result, he was unable to exit the basement with the
bicycle. His second mistake? He broken in while the resident was home. When she
heard him in the basement she immediately called police. APD arrived promptly
and took Raymond Rately into custody. Thanks to Officer Green of APD who
responded and handled the arrest.
Rately
is 30+ year old man who has been in and out of trouble at least since he was 18
years old, with numerous drug and alcohol arrests. Because this individual is a
repeat offender and was bold enough to break into an occupied home our Fulton
County Zone 6 Prosecutor, Keith Lamar, has agreed to handle this case
personally once the suspect is indicted. Indictment will take three to four
weeks. As a CourtWatch case we will be looking for volunteers to attend any
hearings if requested by the CourtWatch Coordinator.
Uptick in Auto Theft
WSB
TV is reporting an increase in Auto Theft throughout the city of Atlanta. See
the story they reported here this link.
To
put this story in perspective, there were fifteen vehicles reported stolen or
that someone attempted to steal citywide in week 26, and seventeen in week 27.
None were stolen from Virginia Highland during those two weeks, but seventeen
of the thirty-two were in beats 602, 603, and 604 (Poncey Highland, Inman Park,
O4W, and Sweet Auburn).
We
should note that crime rates in general were extraordinarily low for 2014
compared to 2012 and 2013. Police have indicated that while their goals are to
maintain those low crime rates through 2015, it is a very difficult challenge.
While the recent spike of auto thefts in nearby neighborhoods is cause for
concern, the numbers for April and May 2015 are well below the auto theft
numbers for April and May in 2013 and 2012.
Anyone
who would like to peruse the numbers can find the APD Uniform Crime Reports
going back to 2009 at this web location..
Aggressive and Verbally Abusive Person Reported
This
photograph was taken by David Eckoff last August when there were many
complaints about this individual exhibiting bizarre behavior, yelling at people
and inanimate objects, etc. After an incident where the man was abusive to a
police officer, he disappeared for a time.
However,
in the past few days there have been new reports of him in the neighborhood,
including acts of vandalism on private property and more bizarre behavior in
front of neighborhood restaurants, etc. If you encounter him, please do not
confront him, but do call police if you see strange behavior or if you feel
threatened. If you can not view the photograph, try this link.
Also
a resident provided this video of the man vandalizing his property. Warning,
this tape has some profanity at the beginning. Avoid this by fast forwarding to
time stamp 0:37. You will note that the man’s hair and beard are shorter, as would be expected
if he has been incarcerated recently. However, we believe it is in fact the
same person.
Police in the Park
On
a lighter note, police will be at Rosa L. Burney Park on Sunday July 19th from 2-4 PM. Meet Officers, enjoy
refreshments and kid’s activities and get to know another neighborhood in the
city. Rosa L. Burney Park is in the Mechanicsville neighborhood, once home to
the Rich family of department store fame.
Want
to stay up-to-date on what is happening with APD? Follow them on Facebook,
and see an interesting interview by WSB TV’s Jocelyn Dorsey with Chief Turner.
Crime Statistics
The
following information is taken from our APD Zone 6 report (http://atlantapd.org/Zone6.
It
includes information from the Virginia-Highland Beat 601 reported incidents
along with relevant reports from other nearby beats. Keep in mind that not all
incidents are reported. A map
showing the location of beats 601 – 612 within Zone 6 can be found at this link http://boundaries.atlantapd.
Homicide None reported on beat 601. One murder was reported in
the Zone. This occurred on Confederate Avenue which is on the northern border
of the Boulevard Heights neighborhood. The shooting occurred in the overnight
hours of July 3rd.
Rape None reported in beat 601 or zone 6.
Residential Robbery None in beat 601. In Cabbagetown around 3:00 am a man who was expecting a pizza
delivery opened his front door to a robber. His wallet was taken but the
resident was not injured. The
simple use of a peephole could have prevented this crime. Always know who is on
the other side of the door before you open or even unlock it.
Pedestrian Robbery None reported in beat 601. Throughout the
zone there were five pedestrian robberies and one attempted robbery with no
serious injuries. One of
these serves as a reminder to be aware of your surroundings at all times. On
June 30th in the
overnight hours the victim was making a purchase at the BP on Moreland Avenue
in Little Five Points. The suspect bumped into him, grabbed his debit card and
ran.
Commercial Robbery None reported in beat 601. The Happy Donut in East
Atlanta was robbed and the clerk was beaten. Also, at the Publix on Ponce de
Leon Ave., Aaron Matthew Dunsen was arrested for shoplifting four cases of beer
and for battery after fighting with the security guard. As it happens, Mr.
Dunsen had an outstanding warrant in Dekalb County so he was transferred to
Dekalb County Jail.
Aggravated Assault None reported in beat 601. One incident
stands out in Beat 609 (Edgewood). The report states that an off duty officer
was traveling northbound on Moreland when a man began waving his hands out the
window to get her attention. The man then pointed a gun at her and made motions
as if to shoot. The officer used her radio to call for back-up and when the
suspect was stopped a fully loaded Glock 17 was recovered from his vehicle.
Obviously the individual (Ryan Santos) was arrested. Of all the cars on all the
roads, only this guy had the bad luck to pick on a cop! Fortunately no shots
were fired and no one was injured.
Commercial Burglary None in beat 601.
Residential Burglary One reported in beat 601. An apartment
was burglarized and entry was presumably made using a key that was left under
the front door mat. An individual known to the victim is suspected.Key
safes that can be purchased for as little as twenty dollars and mounted in an
inconspicuous location outside your home. Please don’t routinely leave house
keys available and unsecured.
Nearby
in Poncey Highland and Old Fourth Ward two residences were entered. Also in Old
Fourth Ward a back window was left open and a resident arrived home to find the
burglar in his living room. The victim immediately left the house and called
police while the burglar made his escape the way he came in. Please make sure doors and
windows are secured when leaving your residence. You never know what you might
come home to find.
Larceny From Vehicle Twelve reported in beat 601. During this
two week period there were again multiple incidents in beat 601 including the
theft of two more handguns! Thefts occurred from vehicles parked
on Amsterdam, Greenwood, Barnett, Virginia Ave, Los Angeles, N. Highland, Ponce
de Leon Ave., and Ponce de Leon Place. Cars were entered via broken windows,
and unlocked vehicles. In addition to the two handguns thieves made off with
the usual haul of laptops, backpacks, cash, and credit cards.
Nearby
there were nine thefts in Inman Park, five in Poncey Highland, and a whopping
forty in Old Fourth Ward.
On
Boulevard during the overnight hours the victim went to visit a friend and when
he returned his car was sitting on bricks. All four tires and rims had been
stolen. I thought that only happened on bad television shows, but apparently
there are some nearby addresses where you really can’t leave a car with nice
wheels late at night. A similar incident was reported to us by the neighborhood
patrol in LaVista Park on July 13th.
Throughout
the zone there were 105 larcenies from Vehicle reported. Please help to spread the word
to locals and visitors that they must not leave anything of value in their
vehicle, especially a handgun that is not well secured. Under the seat, in the
console, or in the glove box is not the place for a firearm in an unattended
vehicle.
Other Larcenies Four reported in beat 601. An unsecured
bicycle was stolen from Barnett St., and a computer was taken from an office on
Pylant Street. At the Open Door Community on Ponce a worker had a Nikon camera,
lenses, and camera bag stolen. And finally a repair person left a door open on
a residence at The Carlton (off Ponce de Leon) and a laptop and check book were
taken.
Auto Theft None in beat 601, but nearby at the Carter
Center a vehicle was stolen from the parking lot during the daytime, along with
the other thefts noted above. Zone
6 is definitely being targeted for Auto Theft at this time so please take
precautions about where you park. Look for well-lit areas with regular
pedestrian and/or vehicular traffic.
Wondering
about how the different Zone 6 beats match up with neighborhoods? Here you go.
601
Virginia-Highland
602
Inman Park/Poncey-Highland
603
O4W
604
O4W/Sweet Auburn
605 Grant
Park, Capitol Gateway, Oakwood
606
Cabbagetown/Reynoldstown
607
Benteen, Boulevard Heights, Custer/McDonough/Guice, Ormewood Park, Woodland
Hills
608
Candler Park, Lake Clair
609
Edgewood
610
Kirkwood
611
Eastlake, Villages of East Lake
612
East Atlanta
Stay
Safe!
Kay
Stephenson
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