Decatur Police Alert: Armed Robbery Reported in Oakhurst Last Night

From Decatur PD’s Sgt. Jennifer Ross…

On 3-28-14 at approximately 8 pm, Decatur Police responded to an armed robbery that occurred near the intersection of East Lake Drive and Oakview Road.  The victim reported she was walking from a restaurant to her bicycle when she encountered two males sitting nearby.  One of the males demanded money and the victim did not comply.  The suspect produced a handgun and again demanded money.  The victim tossed her backpack to the suspects and they fled south on East Lake Drive.  The victim fled north on East Lake Drive on her bicycle and collided with a vehicle.  The victim sustained minor injuries from the collision.
Suspect #1 was described as a black male, late 20’s to early 30’s, approximately 6′, slim build, low haircut, light brown complexion, with a round dark beauty mark on his right cheek and raspy voice, wearing a white t-shirt and dark jeans and armed with a large black semi-automatic handgun.  Suspect #2 was described as a black male, wearing a dark t-shirt and dark jeans.

23 thoughts on “Decatur Police Alert: Armed Robbery Reported in Oakhurst Last Night”


  2. Can we please bring back the mini police station to Oakhurst ? If not, can there be a policeman stationed to the village on weekends?

  8. Seems like a good idea to me. Did it make a difference when it was there?

    2. People talk about the former Oakhurst substation as though it were a staffed police facility where there were officers congregated and you could run in for immediate assistance. Allow me to ease your concerns that we’re somehow being subjected to a reduced level of service. The former facility was a desk. In a dark room. With a locked door. Periodically, an officer or two would drop by to do some paperwork.

      As Nellie says, crime was considerably higher then. And that was because the substation had pretty much nothing to do with the things that cause or prevent crime.

  10. As someone who was on the scene, I can tell you that the victim was extremely inebriated. That is not offered as a “was asking for it” sentiment but I’m telling you…she was totally sh*&thoused. There were a lot of people around the hood at that point – I’d be interested to figure out if she was actually robbed. My understanding was that her collision with the car on East Lake was what brought the cops on the scene.

    Having said all of that, if she was actually robbed then her condition was an unfortunate circumstance.

    1. Sounds like a heck of a description to be given by someone as inebriated as you describe.

  12. I posted a comment on another blog, name of blog also beginning with “Decatur…” For some reason my comment was deleted so I will post here.

    It is sad that on the north side of Decatur it is safe for kids to walk or ride their bike to the parks, while on the south side it is not safe for adults to walk or ride bikes.

    1. “It is sad that on the north side of Decatur it is safe for kids to walk or ride their bike to the parks, while on the south side it is not safe for adults to walk or ride bikes.”

      This, M1, is not true. I and my kids have ridden bikes and walked on both sides of the tracks for the past decade and will continue to do so. The more people walk and ride, the safer the streets will be. And they are pretty darn safe right now, particularly when you have you are alert and have your wits about you.

      Come on outside, you’ll find it a great experience on either side of town. I pity the folks who don’t fully enjoy this town because they stay holed up in their houses in fear.

    2. And you can see from this very blog, that there was a similar crime in the middle of the afternoon on a Sunday on the northside. Sometime in the last several months, the blog had crime statistics showing improvement over time, not a decline, in City of Decatur. I think, as COD has become more and more affluent, we’ve let our expectations rise more quickly than reality. In general, this is a safe, walkable, bikeable small city but we are surrounded by Metro Alanta with all its advantages and problems.

        1. Thanks for that link DM – it’s interesting that the crime statistics are following the recession stats. A drop off when the recession hit the worst, then a gradual increase since – but luckily it hasn’t reached pre-recession levels again.

          I notice M1 had a similar “north vs. south” comment on that link…
          I recall when moving in south of the tracks 15 years ago, there was a more pronounced north/south split with Glenwood/Great Lakes looking askance at those of us who chose to move to Oakhurst/College Heights. That perception of “others” has declined in Decatur over the years, along with the crime stats, I’m glad to say. But for some reason, people like M1 want to keep it alive.

          1. You are right that the northside/southside split is so last millenium/2000s. Hard to distinguish the sides on most characteristics these days. Except sidewalks. North side is still behind on sidewalks and I’m still mad.

            1. Don’t stay mad– start knockin’ on doors.

              It just takes 75% of neighbors signing a petition request saying they want a sidewalk to get it considered. (And since the City has a “sidewalk on every street” goal, it should be successful.)

          2. My comment is not about dividing Decatur in some sort of north v south battle. Simply my opinion, based on the crime posts on this blog and others that (yesterday’s Sycamore incident aside) crime rates in Oakhurst seem to be significantly higher than rate in the northern neighborhoods.

            Can anyone point me to a link that splits out Decatur crime by neighborhood? Is there a pinmap somewhere?

          3. Obligatory DEQUATUR plug here. “North/South split” is too clunky. Hemispheres is where it’s at!

    3. You’re so right, it’s out of control. I suggest everyone moving out quickly and selling me your property at rock bottom prices to reflect the terribly unsafe nature of the area.

    4. We’re actually very safe here, our crime rates are pretty low and getting lower. It’s just that we get more info about crime in our area via Decatur Metro and other outlets, so we’re more aware of it.

      My kids continue to ride their bikes down to Oakhurst for trips to the Oakhurst Market and so forth. The Market is packed every afternoon with kids walking home from FAVE. With 6 restaurants featuring outdoor seating there are literally hundreds of eyes on the street at certain times, and all of these places continue to be busy.

      Now, with all of that said, if people on the Northside of Decatur want to believe that Oakhurst is a crime ridden war zone, please do so. It’s hard enough to get an outside table at Steinbeck’s these days without a bunch of snobs from the other side of the tracks invading.

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