News and Notes
CourtWatch Update
On Friday July 1st Judge McBurney sentenced several defendants who were involved in a string of carjackings, armed robberies, aggravated assaults, an attempted rape and other crimes in late October and early November. These crimes took place in Zones 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, and South Fulton County. All of the defendants are members of a gang known as Little Ni**** Getting Money (LNGM).
Nine members of the community were present in court and ten additional members sent written Community Impact Statements. The sentences for these defendants were as follows:
David Wilson – (18 years old at time of offenses) received fifty years in Prison, forty years in Prison without the possibility of Parole, and five years of probation after his prison sentence.
Arquavious Strickland (16 years old at time of offenses) received forty years in prison, thirty years without the possibility of parole and five years of probation after his prison sentence.
Jacory Smith (14 years old at time of offenses) twelve years in prison and eight years of probation after his prison sentence
Marquavious Conley (15 years old at the time of offenses) twelve years in prison and eight years of probation after his prison sentence.
Special thanks to ADA Love who prosecuted this case and represented the victims in court, and to Danielle Simpson, CourtWatch Coordinator. Danielle is instrumental in us having a voice in the criminal justice system.
Time to Update Video Registry
As many of you will recall, last year we initiated a video registry for those residents and businesses who have video cameras directed at public spaces like the street or parking lots. The purpose of this registry is to assist Atlanta PD Investigators in locating video that might be helpful in solving crime. Typically, investigators must walk up and down the street looking for cameras that might have helpful video footage. By supplying this information, they can simply call or email a resident and ask to look at the video.
If you have already registered your cameras, please let us know if there have been any changes in the past year. If you have cameras that have not been registered, please send me a message at VaHiSafety@gmail.com with the following information: Your name, street address and building and apartment number if applicable, phone number, email address, number of cameras facing the street and total number of cameras.
This program is at no charge, voluntary and open to any resident or business with the Beat 601 and VaHi boundaries (Amsterdam Avenue on the north, the BeltLine on the west, PDL Avenue on the south, and Briarcliff Road and/or the city limits on the east. Note that APD does not need to know about interior cameras for this project due to privacy concerns. The police only need interior video if there is an incident inside your home.
This list is maintained by me and our FBAC Patrol officers, and Atlanta Police Zone 6 personnel are the only ones that have access to this information. Further, you can be assured it will not be used for any purpose other than for law enforcement. Being included on this list does not, in any way, obligate an owner to turn over surveillance video. It simply lets investigators quickly identify where tape may be available to help with a case, and gives them the contact information to request assistance. Please do participate even if you think your cameras do not provide sufficient resolution to identify a suspect. Sometimes just being able to place a blurry figure at a certain place can help with the timeline of a crime. This gives a lot of residents and businesses a chance to help APD (and the community) in a very positive way.
Door-to-door solicitation
Recently we have heard reports of a variety of scams involving door-to-door solicitors posing as representatives of alarm companies, natural gas providers, and other services.
In the case of the alarm companies, the individual may suggest that he is at your home to upgrade the system as a way to gain entry to your home. In some cases, they will actually switch your service to another alarm system provider, in others they may just be looking to get inside your home and scope it out for a future robbery or worse.
In the case of the natural gas providers, the individual may ask to see a bill to “make sure it is correct”. This is a way to gather information, get inside your home and either convince you to switch to a different provider, or again to scope out your home.
The upshot of all this information is that you should never allow someone into your home that you have not previously scheduled or invited to be there. If the individual appears to have a legitimate reason to be at your home and has proper ID, still call the company first to verify. And let them wait outside while you make that call.
Safety & Transportation issues from Atlanta City Council District 6 Newsletter – July 2016
Street resurfacing will begin on Tuesday July 5th on 10th street from Piedmont Avenue to Monroe. Parking will not be permitted while work is ongoing, and delays can be expected. Plan travel accordingly.
Renew Atlanta has finalized a contract with the consultant who will lead the design effort for the Monroe Drive/Boulevard Complete Streets Project. Public input will be sought beginning in August and a meeting date, time and location will be announced. The goal is to improve safety and mobility for all modes of transportation. Questions can be directed to RenewAtlanta@atlantaga.gov or by calling 404-330-6165.
Find the full newsletter here soon http://www.atlantadistrict6.
Mayor Reed Outlines Summer Public Safety Plan
The Atlanta Police Department issued a press release on Nextdoor outlining summer public safety plans. The full details can be found at the link.
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 in Beat 601 and one reported in Zone 6.
Rape None reported in Beat 601 and none in Zone 6.
Pedestrian/Carjacking Robbery One reported in Beat 601 and one reported in Zone 6.
On June 11th the victim left Hand and Hand around 2:00 am and was walking on St. Charles when he was attacked from behind by two assailants. The suspects struck the victim causing him to fall to the ground then took the cash from his wallet and fled. The victim suffered bruises to his eye, knee, and arm.
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Residential Robbery None reported in Beat 601 and one reported in Zone 6.
Commercial Robbery None reported in Beat 601 and one reported in Zone 6.
Aggravated Assault None reported in Beat 601 and eight reported in Zone 6.
Residential Burglary None reported in Beat 601 and twenty-seven reported in Zone 6.
Commercial Burglary None reported in Beat 601 and ten reported in Zone 6.
Larceny From Vehicle Three reported in Beat 601 and fifty-nine reported in Zone 6.
Vehicles were entered on Adair, Frederica, and Ponce de Leon Place. Entry was made via a broken window in one case and unlocked vehicles in the other two. Taken were a tote bag and Dell laptop, purse with wallet, ID, credit cards etc. and two iPhones. An arrest was made on Adair due to a prompt call from a resident who reported the individual looking into vehicles. The responding officer caught the suspect matching the resident’s description farther down the street inside of another vehicle. Kudos to the neighbor who made that call.
All around the zone five handguns were stolen from vehicles and residences during this two-week period. If you own or carry a firearm. Please take every precaution to secure the gun when you cannot carry it with you. Stashing a handgun under the seat or in a glove box or console will not prevent it from falling into the wrong hands. The same applies when a gun is left in the home. If your gun in stored in a night table or other place for easy access for protection and your home is burglarized while you are not there, these are the first place criminals (and children) will look. Please lock guns in a secure place when you are not at home.
Other Larcenies Four reported in Beat 601 and fifty-two reported in Zone 6.
On May 29th on Bonaventure Avenue items were taken from an apartment by a known former resident.
On May 30th on N. Highland Avenue a wallet and cash were taken from a table.
On June 3rd a bicycle was stolen from the front patio of a home on Frederica Street
On June 4th a bicycle was taken from a bike rack outside a residence on Virginia Ave.
All around the zone eleven bicycles were stolen in the two-week period. If at all possible, please store bicycles inside when not in use.
Auto Theft None reported in Beat 601 and twenty-one reported in Zone 6.
If this report was forwarded to you and you would like to be added to the distribution, please send a message to me at VaHiSafety@gmail.com with your name, email address, and affiliation. Thanks.
Stay Safe!
Kay Stephenson
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