Report for February 2016 - Virginia-Highland Security Patrol (FBAC)

The activity report is a summary of what our FBAC Patrol Officers do on their shifts

Directed Patrols:  18	Drop ins/Park and Walks:  19	Suspicious person:  6
Alarm Response:  4	Suspicious Vehicle:  2	Parking Complaints:  1
Noise Complaints:  0	Out of town Checks:  8	Abandoned Auto:  0
FBAC member Contact:  6	Lost Person:  0	Street Obstruction:  0
Wanted Persons:  0	Intoxicated Persons:  1	Found Property:  0
Criminal Trespass:  0	Info for Officers:  5	Shots Fired:  0
Calls for service (cell Phone):  5

News and Notes

Attention: Please call 911 first for every issue you have. This includes suspicious persons or activity that you witness. By calling 911 it ensures that if FBAC officers are not on patrol a police officer is responding to the reported activity. Call the FBAC phone/officers after you call 911. The 911 system is set up to handle all calls though the system both emergency and non-emergency.

Arrest: FBAC Officers arrested one individual this reporting period.  Sergeant Skeens arrested an intoxicated male involved in a domestic dispute with a female in the business district on North Highland Avenue.

Significant Incidents

Robbery 960 Greenwood Av from Officers Narrative:

On February 21st Officer R. Matthews responded to a call at 990 Greenwood Avenue near Frederica Street where he was met by the victim #1 and her friend. They advised me that they had just been robbed at gun point by three black males. The victim further stated that they were walking down Greenwood Avenue, leaving from one of the local bars. The description the two victims gave of the three black males are as followed:

Male #1, who held victim #1 at gun point, was wearing a black beanie or cap, 5'7", in his early 20's.

Male #2, who held victim #2 at gun point, had on long sleeves with grey pants. He stood about 5'9 to 5'11, and was about 20 to 25 years old.
The same two males pulled out and pointed what was described as one black, and one silver hand gun.

Male #3 stood over to the side as to make sure the two women did not try and run. He had on a blue Polo hoodie, stood 5'10, 160 pounds and was wearing blue jeans.

The victims advised they did not hesitate to give the males all of their items of value. After taking their iPhones, keys, credit cards, and purses, the two males moved closer to the women and patted them down to see if they had any other items that they were hiding.

The two males with the guns made the women sit down on the ground and face the apartments as the three of them got into what was described as a late model red four- door-sedan. A witness who was standing on the corner of Greenwood talking on his cell phone witnessed the three males drive off. He stated that he saw the driver of the sedan wearing a blue hoodie, and also advised that the males headed west down Greenwood Avenue. The victims both said they did not get a good look at the males faces. 

Office Matthews canvassed the area and did not see any cameras pointed in the direction of the crime scene. However, if any members living in the area do have video, please contact APD Zone 6 investigators and let them know you have video that might be useful for the robbery on February 21^st at Greenwood and Frederica. You can reach investigators at (404) 373-5331.

Attempted Robbery on Virginia Avenue

On Wednesday Feb 24^th around 4:30 pm a resident was confronted by an armed young man in her condo’s garage. The resident convinced the would-be robber that police were patrolling the neighborhood and were nearby, so the suspect and another man fled in their silver Toyota (perhaps a Camry). According to the victim’s report on Nextdoor, Suspect #1 was young (teen to early 20’s) clean-shaven black man with short hair wearing a dark sweatshirt. The driver wore a hoody pulled close around his face. There were no injuries and nothing was taken in this incident, but it does point out that we need to be cautious as any time of day. The victim did state that APD officers responded within one minute of her call because they were, in fact, patrolling nearby.

Theft from Vehicles and Wheel and License Plate Thefts

Over the past several weeks we have seen a several incidents of wheel and tire thefts with vehicles left up on blocks. It appears that this is some sort of organized group that is stealing wheels all over the city. Atlanta police are working these cases hard and we hope to hear of some arrests soon. In addition, we had at least one license plate stolen from a vehicle. Please remember to walk behind your vehicle regularly to check that your plate is still there. Finally, we continue to be plagued with auto break-ins. In many cases there are items of value in plain sight which attracts these crimes of opportunity. In one case a woman stuck her handbag under the seat of her car and when she returned the bag along with $2000 cash was missing. It is likely that the thief was already in the parking lot and saw her stash the bag. Please remember that you need to hide any items you must leave in your vehicle in the locked trunk, and to place them there before you arrive at your destination.

Reminders: 

All members call 911 first if you see a crime in progress or a suspicious person or activity, and then call the FBAC Phone. The phone number is on the schedule that is emailed to you monthly.

If you see someone or something suspicious, please report it to the police.  When driving or out walking, keep an eye out in the neighborhood. What you see and report just might prevent a crime.

Note: Part one crime statistics from the Atlanta Police Department are available online and will be included in the VaHi Safety Team Reports which are distributed by Neighborhood Watch approximately twice per month. These statistics will no longer be duplicated here. If you have questions about this change, please send a message to vahisafety@gmail.com. If you do not know who your street captain is, please send a message to ebarrsafety@gmail.com with your name and street address, and Eleanor Barrineau will connect you.