Armed Robbery at Corner of Ponce and N. Candler
November 13, 2008 | 9:50 amRustyDiamond (and a whole lot of other people) forwarded me this note yesterday. I held onto it until I received confirmation from Decatur PD that it was in fact valid. This morning I got confirmation, so here it is…
Last night approximately 11 pm my brother-in-law was robbed at gunpoint in downtown Decatur by two teenagers. This occurred at the corner of Ponce and N. Candler street by the J. Christopher’s restaurant and Decatur Methodist. He had parallel parked on N. Candler and was walking back to his car alone from meeting friends downtown.
The perps were a “crew” of two African American males with medium skin tone. The older teen was obviously experienced and directed the younger teen holding the gun what to do. Both wore dark hoodies and one hoodie had gold lettering. They told him to throw his keys on the ground (I assume to avoid him hitting the panic button or using any pepper spray on his key chain as they did not try to take his car). They then sprayed him with pepper spray and demanded his wallet and his phone. They fled on foot toward Kroger.
I know many of us park in this area all the time so please be vigilant and if you are aware of any similar crimes with this same MO or you happen to have any idea who these guys are please let Decatur PD know.
Here’s Decatur PD’s response… “Yes, it did occur but it is an active and ongoing investigation. Inv. Karolyi was assigned the case.”
ummmm….thats scary!
I guess there were not a lot of people around at that hour? no witnesses…Is that area well lit, or a dark corner?
Has anyone ever proposed the use of video cameras in the downtown area? My neighborhood association in Druid Hills is looking into installing cameras at strategic intersections in the neighborhood. We’ve had a lot of property crime there in the last few months and there is concern. It seems with Decatur having only a few main drags it could be possible.
This is unfortunate, but thankfully a very rare occurence in Decatur and hopefully will stay that way.
Newbie, whenever I go running through that part of town (usually late like 10-11), I don’t see many people on that end of the Ponce strip. It’s usually pretty quiet over there.
Why does it seem that Kroger is a magnet for panhandlers and those fleeing on foot?
I carry a fake wallet and a fake phone for perps.
I think the note said “toward Kroger”. That is an open area with plenty of directions to flee.
Sorry you feel compelled to carry fakes – have you had encounters in the past?
Because you can hide in the cemetary next door easily…plus Kroger is so shoddy and rundown looking that perps blend it….you can hide behind all the stacked stuff in the doorways…apparently fire codes don’t apply to Slowger…
This is very concerning considering we live one block from this area. With the economy the way it is, I’m sorry to say we’ll only see a rise in this kind of crime.
We were witnesses in a carjacking/attempted kidnapping that occured in the Decatur library parking lot about a year ago. I never heard if anyone was caught but at the time I couldn’t believe something like that could happen in the downtown area. Same type of guys-I remember he used a big silver gun. Scared the hell out of us!
This incident should be a reminder to be on the lookout and report (i.e. 911) anything or anybody that looks out of sorts or unusual. Don’t be shy – if it may or may not be suspicious, call anyway. Small things can lead to bigger things. Let’s take advantage of DPD’s usual quick response time.
“Decatur Police Department”
“Hello. I’d like to report an aggravating poster at the Decatur Metro blog”
“Do you have a description?
“Yeah. Sorta. Male. Alway asking annoying questions and seems to be extremely poor at math.”
“Anything else?
“Yes. I think his name is Steve”
“OK. We know who you’re talking about. He’s harmless. Our best advice to you is just ignore him and if he tries to use math on you again call us because we’ve warned him repeatedly about that.”
Maybe I should try French instead.
Steve
I couldn’t resist.
I do appreciate your being a true-blue cheerleader for the City of Decatur and because you TRY so hard.
taxus
It’s a form of torture.