The following information was provided to the Reporter by the Sandy Springs Police Department from its records and is presumed to be accurate.

Two convicted of murder

A Fulton County jury March 16 convicted Delman Higuera Hernandez and Rogelio Higuera Gutierrez, both 29, of murder, felony murder, voluntary manslaughter, trafficking in cocaine, conspiracy to traffic in cocaine and weapons trafficking in connection with the shooting deaths of Antonio Clark and Santos Palacios Vazquez at 550 Abernathy Road on Sept. 28.

Five other men are awaiting trial in the case, which District Attorney Paul Howard Jr.’s office said was a drug deal gone bad.

The defendants were trying to sell $58,000 worth of fake cocaine to another group of men. The buyers tried to purchase the cocaine with counterfeit money. When each group realized the other was pulling a scam, a shootout ensued in Hernandez’s Sandy Springs apartment. At least four guns were used to fire a total of 32 rounds.

Clark, one of the buyers, and Vasquez, one of the sellers, were killed in the cross fire. Hernandez, who was injured in the melee, initially told authorities he had been robbed and shot.

Hernandez and Gutierrez will be sentenced after pre-sentencing hearings.

Burglary

1300 block of Marsh Trail Circle 30328 – Someone removed a window, entered an apartment and took several items March 13.

300 block of Virginia Road 30342 – A window was broken March 15, and a TV and other electronics went missing.

600 block of Gettysburg Place 30350 – A window was broken to gain access to a home March 15.

5900 block of Roswell Road 30328 – A large glass window was broken out of a storefront March 16. Missing items include 100 small silver bars in oak, valued at $1,900; 18 special silver dollars, valued at $3,600; and a box of stones, valued at $3,500.

4800 block of Powers Ferry Road 30342 – Someone gained access to a home March 16 while the resident was away for an hour. The man said another resident may have left a door open. Several items were reported missing.

5600 block of Roswell Road 30342 – Police received a burglary-in-progress call March 16. They arrived just after the suspect left the scene. The victim said the burglar attempted to force his way in. The victim held the door shut while the man shouted to be let in. The investigation is ongoing.

Theft

6100 block of Roswell Road 30328 – Just before 1 a.m. March 13 a woman ordered a bacon cheeseburger at IHOP, then skipped the bill.

5900 block of Roswell Road 30328 – A gray 1985 Oldsmobile Delta 88 was stolen March 15.

500 block of Old Harbor Drive 30350 – A green Toyota truck was stolen March 13.

4500 block of Roswell Road 30342 – A trailer was stolen March 13.

700 block of Hammond Drive 30328 – A woman left two travel bags outside her apartment March 16, and someone took them.

8500 block of Roswell Road 30350 – A black True-Keg cooler with chrome beer taps was stolen from outside a restaurant/bar March 16.

2000 block of Dunwoody Club Drive 30350 – A woman reported that she left her dog in a small kennel outside a store while she shopped March 13. When she returned, the dog was gone. Witnesses said a woman in her 30s, with brown ear-length hair, drove up in a white sport-utility vehicle and took the dog. The culprit was reported to have said, “If someone leaves a dog like this, they’ll leave a child too.” She then left the area.

4500 block of Roswell Road 30342 – A red 1997 Ford Explorer was stolen March 13.

5600 block of Peachtree-Dunwoody Road 30342 – A woman reported that someone stole an Apple iPod and jewelry from her hotel room March 13.

5700 block of Roswell Road 30342 – A 2006 Nissan Altima was stolen March 13.

200 block of Windsor Parkway 30342 – A Honda Accord was stolen March 16.

7100 block of Peachtree-Dunwoody Road 30328 – A red 1995 Acura Integra was stolen March 18.

7300 block of Roswell Road 30350 – A motorist reported that she accidentally left her wallet on her car as she drove off March 16. When she discovered the wallet was gone, she went back but was unable to find it. She reported the credit cards missing and was told the transaction cards were later used at a Citgo gas station, Kroger fuel station, OfficeMax, Kroger, QT and the RiteAid for a total of around $800.

Theft from vehicle

Items were stolen from vehicles broken into at the following locations:

• 200 block of Hilderbrand Drive 30328, four vehicles in four days starting March 13.

• 8600 block of Roswell Road 30350, March 13.

• 100 block of Silverwood Road 30328, March 13.

• 7900 block of Roswell Road 30350, March 13.

• 4500 block of Roswell Road 30342, March 14.

• 7000 block of Gables Lane 30328, March 14.

• 6600 block of Roswell Road 30328, March 15.

• 5800 block of Roswell Road 30328, March 15.

• 6100 block of Peachtree-Dunwoody Road 30328, March 16.

• 4800 block of Roswell Road 30342, March 17.

Fraud, forgery and ID theft

8700 block of Roswell Road 30350 – A man entered SunTrust Bank inside Publix and deposited a check drawn on a Wachovia account for more than $900 March 13. The check was flagged and found to be fraudulent. The man grew nervous after being told the check was being verified, and finally he left.

6300 block of Roswell Road 30328 – A man tried to cash a check March 14 for just more than $800, written from the Hall County Board of Education. Told that the check had to be verified, the man hurried out the door.

A woman called the police to report a number of unauthorized transactions totaling more than $1,100 that showed up on her bank account.

A man reported that someone accessed his business bank account and spent more than $2,600.

A man reported that someone wrote three unauthorized checks off his account for a total of more than $2,600.

5600 block of Roswell Road 30342 – Security personnel reported March 16 that a man wrote several fraudulent checks to a store over three days.

Arrests

5400 block of Glenridge Drive – Police Detective Ryan Finley arrested Tennyson Alvene Smith, 25, at his Sandy Springs apartment March 10 and charged him with stealing a resident’s ID at the Stratford Apartments. Police found that Smith had received a number of packages at his apartment under various names. Finley said the man is suspected of as many as 70 theft and ID theft cases in Georgia and Florida.

Detectives arrested a man and woman who used stolen identification to check in to a Sandy Springs hotel, where they stole an $1,100 plasma TV from their room. They were connected to similar thefts in Gwinnett, DeKalb, Cobb and Fannin counties.

I-285 and New Northside Drive 30327 – Officers were called to a fight in progress March 13. After they broke up the fight, they found that one of the people involved had a fake Georgia driver’s license. He was arrested.

5600 block of Roswell Road 30342 – Target employees detained a man suspected of stealing the following items March 13: beer, Xbox video games, a cell phone and a DVD. He was arrested.

4600 block of Roswell Road 30342 – Officers responded to a loud-music call March 16 and found a man standing outside the apartment. He was intoxicated and bleeding, having suffered a cut to his hand. Officers went to the apartment and found another man bearing obvious signs of a fight, namely abrasions and cuts, who also was intoxicated. Police learned that the men had gotten into an argument, and one of them got his hands on a 12-inch knife and cut the second man. The knife-wielding man was arrested and charged with aggravated assault.

I-285 and Northside Drive 30327 – An officer found a man standing on the side of the ramp to I-285 around 5 a.m. March 18. The man was intoxicated and wearing only underwear and a T-shirt. He said he didn’t remember how he got there. The officer had paramedics check the man, who had a small cut on his leg. He was arrested.