Capt. Steve Rose provided the following information, which represents some of the reports filed with Sandy Springs police from Jan. 1 through Jan. 11.
Burglary
Mount Paran Road — On Jan. 1, a resident said their car was missing from the driveway of the home. They were gone from the residence from about 9:30 p.m. until 1 a.m. Officers found evidence that the home had been entered, ransacked, etc. Several items were taken including kitchen utensils, cooker, juicer and coffee grinder. The resident also reported an Xbox game, purse, wallet, jewelry, cash and keys to a car and business were taken.
1300 block of Marsh Trail Circle — On Jan. 2, someone entered the resident’s apartment sometime between 9:15 a.m. and 5 p.m. The front door had been forced open. The resident said several laptops were missing. Nothing else was reported missing.
1900 block of Marsh Trail Circle — On Jan. 3, the resident was gone from 4:30 a.m. until the following midnight. He returned and found the apartment unlocked and lights on. He is missing a suitcase, PlayStation 4 and a laptop. The other resident is missing jewelry.
6500 block of Roswell Road — On Jan. 4, the complainant said an eviction took place; however, they did not change the locks and during that time, someone got inside the apartment and took a washer and dryer as well as a wine chiller.
5400 block of Roswell Road — On Jan. 4, the resident left home about 1 p.m. She returned and discovered several jewelry items were taken from the home. She said she suspects another resident of the complex whom she has had problems with before although nothing indicated the other person was involved in the burglary.
700 block of Northway Lane — A resident left the home on Dec. 29 and returned on Jan. 5. A back door was found unlocked and several items were missing. They found no forced entry.
8300 block of Roswell Road— On Jan. 5, a resident said he was in his bedroom when he heard noises from his dog cage in the living room. The resident said he thought it was his husband returning, but instead he found a male standing in the living room. The suspect immediately fled. The officer noted that according to the complainant, the dog did not bark at the suspect, “although he barked uncontrollably at me.”
3100 River Exchange Drive — On Jan. 8, a resident said she left for work around 7 a.m. and returned just before 8 p.m. She found that her front door deadbolt was damaged. Missing is a flat-screen TV, Sony radio, headphones and jewelry.
7100 block Glenridge Drive — On Jan. 11, someone forced entry to the gift shop at a church and took $247 cash from the register.
Robbery
100 block of Northwood Drive — On Jan. 6, the employees at Super Mercado Santa Fe Restaurant said around midnight a man entered the store with a rifle and a knife. The suspect “snatched” money, totaling $6,000, from the counter. The suspect also took $380 from an employee’s wallet and then ran south from that location. The victims said the suspect was 5-feet-9-inches tall and slim. He wore grey gloves and a multicolored striped ski mask, green pants and a black jacket. To make things worse, one of the victims had a warrant from Sandy Springs and as a result, was taken into custody.
200 block of Hammond Drive — This is labeled robbery, but reads like a theft. On Jan. 8, the victim met a man on the selling site “Letgo” to sell a pair of shoes. He met a man named Mr. Thomas and another man named Mr. Cruz. Thomas came into the building, Cruz stayed in the car. Thomas said he wanted to show the shoes to Cruz and walked outside. The victim got nervous about the possibility of theft, and followed. Sure enough, Thomas got into the car and they drove away. The victim tried to pull on the door, but could not get it open. On arrival, officers posted a lookout and just like in “Adam-12,” a patrol K-9 officer spotted Cruz at the McDonalds on Roswell Road. Cruz took off running, but was quickly corralled. Cruz quickly gave up Thomas. Thomas is not the suspect’s real name. Turns out “Thomas” goes to school at Gordon State College. The detective contacted the campus cops there, who confirmed the real ID of “Thomas.” That followed with a copy of the arrest warrant and the Gordon College cops arrested “Thomas” for robbery and turned him over to Fulton County Jail.
I do not know whether the shoes were recovered.
8600 block of Roberts Drive — A domestic-violence call where the male suspect was accused of hitting the victim and stealing her phone on Jan. 11.
Theft
6200 block of Peachtree-Dunwoody Road — On Jan. 1, a fired employee was accused of saying she had the company keys and would come back and “mess the place up.”
5900 block of Peachtree-Dunwoody Road — On Jan. 3, a fired employee was accused of taking car-washing equipment including a Sportsman generator, Ryobi vacuum and towels.
1100 block of Mount Vernon Highway — On Jan. 6, a locker “dial” lock was taken from a gym as well as a credit card subsequently used next door at Dick’s Sporting Goods for $1,500.
500 block of Northland Ridge — On Jan. 8, credit cards were ordered and then taken from victim’s mailbox by suspect.
600 block of Summer Crossing — On Jan. 9, a package was stolen from victim’s doorstep.
4600 block of Roswell Road — On Jan. 11, an employee was accused of faking the theft of two chainsaws from the work truck, and then putting them on Craigslist to sell. The owner saw the ad and confronted the employee, who allegedly told the owner he would take him to the stolen chainsaws. The owner followed in his car, but the suspect fled.
4900 block of Roswell Road — On Jan. 11, a Kroger employee purchased items at the self-checkout area and requested $100 cash. The cash did not immediately come out of the slot so he walked away to get assistance. On return, he discovered that the money was dispensed in his absence and was taken by someone else. He said a woman “lurked” over his shoulder during the transaction.
200 block of Franklin Road — On Jan. 11, the victim ordered a video game system online through Amazon. They delivered it, documenting that it was left in the mail room just before 2 p.m. He arrived at 5 p.m. to pick it up and it was gone. The apartment staff said they had no knowledge of the package.
This Week’s Highlight Film Case No. 48: The victim, a guest at the Comfort Inn on Peachtree-Dunwoody Road, told cops he met a man on the app Grindr. According to the report, they met at the hotel to spend some “quality time together.” Following the blissful time spent in quality mode, the man absconded after stealing $3,200 cash.
We’ve had this discussion before. You take a chance with your property and perhaps your life when you arrange meetings with total strangers. A March 16, 2016 article in the British online news site called The Telegraph, reports crimes linked to sites like Grindr and Tinder have increased “sevenfold” in the past two years prior to 2015. Got to be careful, folks.
Thefts from vehicles
Between Jan. 2 and Jan. 11, 11 thefts from vehicles were reported.
Assault
6000 block of Roswell Road — On Jan. 7, a victim said he was assaulted while eating lunch. He said he thinks the suspect was a gang member.
200 block of Summer Crossing — On Jan. 11, the victim said shortly after 6 a.m. a male knocked on his door and began arguing over a parking issue. The victim said the suspect pulled an automatic gun from his waistband, but did not point it at him. The suspect’s girlfriend called him “Xavier.”
Arrests
7000 Roswell Road — On Jan. 5, an officer responded to a theft in progress at the apartment complex. A witness saw a man break into a Kia Soul. Based on the lookout, the officer came up on a suspect and detained him briefly, until he decided things were not going his way. He fled on foot with the officer in pursuit. Both ran across Roswell Road and onto Spalding Drive in the 500 block. During the chase, the suspect tripped and fell, allowing the officer time to catch up and cover him with her Taser. He complied and was cuffed. He was later charged with entering an auto.
1100 block of Spalding Drive — On Jan. 8, officers stopped a car on a seatbelt violation. During the stop, the officers smelled marijuana coming from inside the car. The driver was arrested because he did not possess a license. Officers found a 9mm pistol during the inventory of the car. The gun information came back as stolen from John’s Creek. The driver said the gun belonged to the passenger. He told officers the passenger asked for a ride from 7000 Roswell Road to a MARTA station. When he picked him up, the passenger pulled the gun from his waistband, offering to sell it for $200. The driver said he declined. He went on to say that when they were pulled over, the passenger tried to get the driver to take the gun and some Oxycodone pills in a plastic bag. The driver refused to take the gun, but stashed the pills in his crotch. Both men were arrested, the driver accused of possessing the gun by a convicted felon and marijuana, and the passenger accused of disorderly conduct.
At least four people were arrested for driving under the influence and two people were arrested for marijuana possession between Dec. 31 and Jan. 3.
Other incidents
5600 block of Peachtree-Dunwoody Road — On Jan. 8, officers were called to Emory Saint Joseph’s Hospital ER regarding a person shot. They spoke to a man who said he was the brother of the person shot. He said they were at a bar downtown, and at some point they got into an argument with a female and male. He said his brother was shot as they walked through the parking lot. A car, described as unknown, pulled up. The driver, also described as unknown, told them to get in, which they did, and they drove to St. Joe’s. The complainant said he did not know where the bar was located in Atlanta. The person, who was shot, will survive. The detectives say the contact number given has been called numerous times with no answer.
OK, first, and I speak only for myself here, I don’t believe the story. Who would? Secondly, if you are shot in Atlanta, Grady should be your first choice. Great hospital and great trauma center, and it is not in Sandy Springs.