DeKalb Police Searching For Suspected East Lake Road Burglar
Decatur Metro | January 8, 2010 | 3:53 pm
The AJC reports that DeKalb Police have a warrant out for Todd Leslie Thompson, who is suspected in upwards of 20 burglaries along East Lake Road near Ponce de Leon Ave.
Here’s a bit more info from the AJC article on the 42 year-old suspect…
…police think Thompson has been breaking into homes in that area over the last three months, taking jewelry, flatware and tools. Investigators said they think he enters each residence by breaking exterior windows.
Investigators said Thompson may be homeless and uses a bicycle to get around.
Why is it that almost all reports involving perps like this dude insist upon calling them “gentlemen”??? Not pouncing on you. DM, but this is a particular pet peeve of mine. “Gentleman” is not, and should not be used as, a generic reference to a male criminal. It is, instead, a generic reference to a man with the singularly opposite qualities.
*whew* OK, now that I’ve vented, let me say I hope they catch the little thug.
“It is, instead, a generic reference to a man with the singularly opposite qualities.”
Which is precisely why it is used IMO.
Oh, so you were using it sarcastically? I apologize, because it wasn’t obvious, and just about every time I read a newspaper or see a news report where a cop (or other spokesperson) is being interviewed about a man wanted for some infraction or other, that person is almost invariably referred to in such mannner: “The gentleman was 6′ tall, blonde, and wearing a checkered shirt” or “The gentleman accosted the victim before taking his money” or “The gentleman pulled his gun and demanded the clerk lie on the ground”, and so on. It makes me NUTS!
I share this pet peeve. It strikes me as an attempt at polished language, which has unfortunately caught on, but which comes across as anything but polished!
I’ve long held that elementary and middle school curriculum should include mandatory classes in etiquette (every other year, beginning preK) and yoga (every other year, beginning no later than 3rd grade). To that I would now add elocution!
WORD. I was beginning to think it was just me!
Yes, call it “sarcastic courtesy”.
I’ll take your word for it regarding your own statement, but I don’t believe that’s the case with other media spokespersons who use it so profligately. ‘Nuff said.
Yet another example of where a sarcasm font would come in handy!
Who do we contact to report a sighting of this guy?? I’m 95% sure he’s been hanging out in Kirkwood a lot lately…
It seems like you should call DeKalb police, since they’re the ones with the warrant.
you call 911 from whatever jurisdiction you are in, let the police get there quickly and determine what needs to be done. Do not delay in calling……
I got home from an out of town holiday trip on 12/29 and the next day 3 police cars were in the driveway of the house next to me on Ponce which is currrently empty. I talked to the police (Dekalb County) and they said they were looking for a homeless guy who was breaking into houses along Ponce near the stone bridge. Sounds like this is the guy. They said if you see him, call 911. He’s a bad guy.
He also broke into a house on Ponce De Leon Manor. I heard he made eggs, bacon and took a shower. No kidding.
Bad, perhaps.
A threat, only if you are not armed.
I’m pretty sure this is the same guy that cruises the Clairmont Heights neighborhood too. I saw him scoping things out in my neighbor’s backyard and promptly called the police. I’ve seen him several times since then, riding a red bike in the same area. Each time I’ve called the police to report him.
Sincerely,
Gladys Kravitz
Careful, Abner and I are watching!
The man who rides around Clairmont Heights is Raymond, who rents a space from one of the residents there and does yardwork for practically the whole neighborhood. He’s actually a very nice guy.
If he’s the same Raymond I know, he’s also semi-retarded. He seems to be a nice guy but can be hard to understand. He did some work on my street (Howard Circle) in Lake Claire several months ago.
Well, if it was Raymond, he was in my neighbor’s backyard not doing some yardwork on the windows.
My friend who lives on East Lake between Ponce and Ridgecrest was lolling in his backyard hammock this summer when he looked up and saw this thug walking around the back of his house peeking in the windows and door. When he confronted him the “gentleman’ said he was just coming to knock on his BACK door to see if he could do some yard work. My friend promptly gave chase but didn’t catch him. This happened in July. Why hasn’t this “gentleman” been caught by the cops yet??? I’m sure if this was going on in the city of Decatur our cops would have had him long ago. Too bad my friend is in unincorporated Dekalb county.
instead of chasing, why did you not call 911 right away. This is the problem we see, no on calls 911 until it’s a number of minutes into an event, then the perp is long gone.
CALL 911 FIRST!!!!!!!
what;s the alternative?
calling the perp “the individual”..?
[[as opposed to a group, a country, a what??]
another pet peeve
wle.
Call him a man. “Gentleman” is an opinion, “Man” is a fact.
An interesting study in rhetoric.
“Human being” is also a fact, but carries it’s own subtle “opinions”.
“The suspect” or “the subject” both fit, and are appropriate for the individual being described. “Gentleman” is not. And while “man” and “human being” are certainly accurate (he’s not a duck, after all), whether he is in fact “humane” is up for grabs.
What are your feelings on flippant and “improper” use of its gender counterpart: “lady”?
For example “lady of the night”.
[cue: Kool and the Gang]
Pretty much the same– but the difference between the two is that “lady of the night” is in fact a term of art that is a deliberate eupehmism, whereas the relatively recent use of the word “gentleman” as a generic reference to “any male person” is not. Perhaps if we were talking about a term such as “gentleman perpetrator” being used instead, it might be a more apt comparison.
FreeCuba, I agree with your peeve, but “gentleman” has completely lost its loftiness–it used to only mean a man of aristocratic birth (Jack the Ripper would have been referred to as a gentleman) and it has been used to identify unknown individuals in newspapers for a while. Also, you can see where the irony in its use comes from: pictured here, the gentleman who has has been breaking into cars/robbing houses/slapping small children.
Gibbety-gibbs, you’re absolutely correct about the original definition of the term– but even its relaxed (for the sake of modern conventionality) definition does not, by any mark, include men who commit crimes. My objection is to its ever-more widespread use as a generic reference to mean “a male”. There are more appropriate terms, IMHO, for persons (male & female alike) who’ve committed crimes, and those are not even gender-specific, e.g., “suspect” and/or “subject”. I suspect the useage of “gentleman” as a generic rather than an honorific term stems in part from an attempt to avoid “bias” in reporting such incidents until the perpatrator’s identity or act has actually been confirmed. I can appreciate that, but I also wonder what’s wrong with calling someone who’s believed to be a perpetrator exactly what s/he is? (Hint: it ain’t either a “lady” OR a “gentleman”.)
I agree with you, but, being a linguistic thing, language is defined solely by usage–and the usage is always arbitrary. Most criminals are not gentlemen or ladies, true, but the identity, or lack of, thing is crucial here, and the lofty implications of those terms are thrown aside, perhaps in irony, with journalistic abandon.
Well the AJC solved the issue for us. They pulled the pic I was linking to, so without it, “THIS gentleman” doesn’t really work in the sentence.
FYI: Photo still appears at
http://www.ajc.com/news/dekalb/dekalb-police-looking-for-270513.html.
Thanks Tater. I added the pic back to the post using this new location.
We’ll see how long it lasts!
I know this guy. He is around Candler Park and Dekalb Ave. Rumor is he’s an addict and lives in the boarded up building near Salon Red on Dekalb. I have seen him on numerous different (stolen?) bikes and once pushing a scooter. I was robbed when I lived off Dekalb Ave and so were many neighbors. I always suspected him. He doesn’t seem dangerous but no livelihood so …. I expect he steals. Glad I moved away.
Actually, maybe it’s another homeless guy on a bike in a similar area. It just reminds me of the guy I always used to see but it may be another person. Is there a physical description ?
He broke into our friend’s house on Ponce de Leon Manor as well. If you’ve seen him in Kirkwood (which is where police believe he hangs) please call the police.
Why would the AJC pull the picture? Are they not sure he’s the guy?
There was an arrest of someone who looked a lot like this guy in Oakhurst Village yesterday at about 5:15. 2 Decatur PD cars and a Dekalb PD unit were on the scene, and had a suspect in handcuffs, sitting on the sidewalk on Oakview across the street from Saba.
Anyone else see this? Could be unrelated to the East Lake road burglar, I don’t know, but I thought of this when I went past it.