From Decatur Police Sgt. Jennifer Ross…
On 3/16/15 at approximately 3:20 am, Decatur Police responded to a carjacking in a rear parking lot in the 200 block of East Ponce de Leon Avenue. The victim reported she and a friend were standing by the driver’s side door of her vehicle in the parking lot when they were approached by a male who had both of his hands in his jacket/hoodie pockets. The male stated, “Step away from the car.” They did not immediately move away from the vehicle because they thought the male was joking. The male then stated, “Move away from the vehicle. I’m not afraid to shoot!” The victim saw what she believed was a black handle/grip of a firearm protruding from the male’s left jacket/hoodie pocket and moved away from the vehicle. The male got into the driver’s seat and drove out of the parking lot in the victim’s 2009 Toyota Matrix, traveling east on Sycamore Street and stopped near the intersection of Sycamore Street at N. Candler Street. The male called out, at which time two additional males emerged from somewhere on N. Candler Street and entered the vehicle. The vehicle was last seen turning south onto N. Candler Street (which is a one way street for northbound traffic only). The victim’s backpack and phone were inside of the vehicle. The tracking feature for the stolen cell phone was activated and showed the phone travelling south on Candler Road and then west on I-20. A short time later, the vehicle was located abandoned in the 2400 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in southwest Atlanta.
The suspects were described as follows:
Suspect 1: Black male, medium complexion, 18-23 years in age, slender/muscular build, wearing a black or gray hoodie, dark/black jeans, possibly armed with a firearm (type unknown)
Suspect 2: Male (race/ethnicity unknown), slender build, wearing a dark hoodie and dark pants
Suspect 3: male (race/ethnicity unknown), slender build, wearing a dark hoodie and dark pants
At this point, I really don’t care if the number of armed robberies/carjackings in the City of Decatur is up, down, or stable. It’s too many.
It’s out of hand. The police need to have more of a presence at night to deter these criminals.
Just saw the aftermath of some kind of police chase. Apparently suspect ditched SUV on Ponce just east of Church, in the spaces in front of Great Clips. Detectives were searching the vehicle. Chopper still in the area, so don’t know if suspects were caught or not. Vehicle is an Expedition.
It’s not the D.E.C, it’s the D.M.Z!
I think the best indicator of a rise in Decatur crime is how we’ve become so matter of fact. A mention of gun and car jacking within city limits now only garners 4 comments.
Yup, in less than 2 weeks, we’ve had two armed carjackings and one high speed car chase in Downtown Decatur, a place where we all walk, including our schoolchildren and restaurant/bar patrons. Four months ago a woman walking from a restaurant/bar on the Square to a nearby parking lot was murdered. Three years ago, this would have been huge news. Taking MARTA to Downtown Decatur might be safer than driving here!