Around 3:20pm, Daren reported…

Not sure what it is, but every cop car in Decatur just blazed down S. Candler. They were moving very fast, considering conditions.

Maybe 10 minutes ago.

Deputy Chief Keith Lee replied to DM with the details…

We received a report from a resident on South Candler that they returned home and found their home burglarized. The homeowner believed the suspect was still in the house, so it was dispatched as a burglary in progress. Responding officers searched the residence, but the suspect was not present. The home had been burglarized.

Dave Kell tweeted earlier that the Decatur First Bank branch at the “lil’ Kroger” on Commerce Drive had been robbed around 5p this evening.

Deputy Chief Keith Lee was quick to respond to my inquiry with details and news that the perps have already been arrested.

We were notified of an armed robbery of the Decatur First Bank branch at Kroger this afternoon. Two suspects were stopped a few minutes later on Church Street. Evidence recovered during the stop established probable cause the two suspects were involved in the robbery. Both suspects are in custody at this time and the investigation is continuing.

Hats-off to DPD!!!

Decatur PD’s Juanchella Francis just sent this note out to the community…

The City of Decatur Police Department wishes to advise residents about a recent increase in residential burglaries occurring in the southern portion of the city. Since January 14, 2010 four burglaries of residences have been reported to the Decatur Police Department. Each of these incidents have occurred after 8:00 PM. In three of the incidents the residences were vacant, but a resident was home during the fourth incident. In the fourth incident the suspect fled without entering the residence, once the homeowner made her presence known. In that incident the resident stated she heard someone knock on her door, but did not answer and shortly thereafter the suspect attempted to enter through a rear window. It is surmised the suspect thought the residence was not occupied when he/she did not receive a response at the front door.

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Cheers to the Decatur Police Department for putting out this informative chart, which not only compares the 2009 crime rate to previous years, but also the percentage of cases cleared, and a breakout of “crimes against persons” vs. “crimes against property”.

For all the talk surrounding crimes against property this past year (recap: “It was the economy!” “No it wasn’t!”), it’s interesting to see a decline in that column vs. 2008.  Not so good that crimes against persons increased, but nice to see that DPD increased it’s cleared rate in that category by 14 whole points!

A resident writes in…

Crime Alert:

Friday night after 3:00 in the morning, vandals threw an object at the front door of a house on Ridgeland Ave and broke a window pane. The homeowner, who had been asleep, immediately walked outside to investigate and found a large, dark-colored SUV parked in the middle of the street at the corner of Ridgeland and Fairview. Two boys appeared to be looking at another car parked in the street. When the boys saw the homeowner, they ran towards the SUV. One of the boys was approximately 16 years old, African American and 5 feet 8 inches tall. The other boy was White, approximately 14 years old and 5 feet 4 inches tall and called the first boy “Jay” or “Jake.” As the SUV drove away, the homeowner tried to see the license plate but was not able to see the plate clearly in the dark. The homeowner thought he saw W65 9V1, however, the police did not get a hit on this number. It’s possible though, that part of plate number is correct.

If you have relevant information about this vandalism, you are encouraged to contact the investigating officer, Investigator Bellis, at 678-553-6616 or dan.bellis[at]decaturga.com.

DWAFD sends in this message originally posted on the Winnona Park message board.  Not sure of the author.

Sometime late last night or early this morning, a car was stolen on the 100 block of Shadowmoor; the victim had left the car unlocked. Also, during the same period, the CITGO station on the corner of Commerce and E. College was burglarized. The theives somehow jimmied the window behind the ice machine outside and they ran off with the store’s suppply of cigarettes.

As the neighborhood watch person for this area, I once again caution never to leave the car (or garage windows or doors) unlocked for any reason an also consider purchasing an anti-theft device for the car. Winnona Park is normally a safe neighborhood so incidents like this are very disturbing. Let’s keep an eye out for each other; we can’t watch 24 hours a day but always call the police if you see or hear anything suspicious. I’d rather they investigate and find nothing wrong then to ignore it and find out that a crime has been committed.

Brent sends in this surveillance cam video of a suspect who stole a laptop from a neighboring office on Decatur Square this morning around 10:20am.

If you see or recognize the guy at the beginning of this video, please contact Decatur Police immediately.

DecaturWineandFoodDude sent in this note posted recently on the Winnona Park list serv…

Three car break-ins over the last week (two last night across from the school on Poplar) in Winnona Park. Cars were unlocked (judgment reserved), but still worthy to note. Nothing major taken, but appears to be some late night activity going on.

Philip wrote in this morning about a congregation of city and county police near the YMCA on Clairemont Road yesterday evening.

Asst. Chief Lee provides details as to what occurred…

A Decatur Police Officer was flagged down by a motorist. The motorist advised they were transporting a shooting victim to the hospital. Officers discovered a male in the vehicle who was the victim of a gunshot. The victim advised he was shot outside the Spanish Trace Apartments on Candler Road. This location is in unincorporated DeKalb County. DeKalb Police were notified and the investigation turned over to them.

JoeBlow sent in a tip that there had been an armed robbery at the Wachovia in downtown Decatur at Ponce and N. Candler.  I forwarded it along to Decatur Police and Asst. Chief Keith Lee replied with this alert…

On Thursday August 27, 2009 at approximately 10:19 AM the Decatur Police responded to an attempted robbery at the Wachovia Bank located at 250 East Ponce de Leon Avenue. A bank employee advised a lone male approached her teller station and presented a note. The note demanded the teller produce money. When the teller did not immediately comply, the suspect left the bank. No one was injured and no weapon was displayed.

The suspect is described as follows:

SUSPECT DESCRIPTION

Gender: Male, Race: African American, Height: 6’02” – 6’03”, Weight: Slender, Complexion: Dark, Facial hair: None

Clothing: – Khaki pants- Dark cap with UGA bulldog emblem- White short sleeve collared sweater with light blue diamond pattern (argyle) running vertically down the front of the sweater

Jewelry: – Large diamond stud earrings in left ear

Anyone having information about this crime is asked to contact the Decatur Police Department at (404) 373-6551.