Decatur Police Alert: Another Likely Related Burglary Attempt This Morning
Decatur Metro | June 24, 2013From Decatur PD’s Jennifer Ross…
There was an additional burglary attempt today, June 24th at approximately 10:30 am in the 500 block of South Candler Street that appears to be related to the recent series of burglaries in the Winnona Park/South Candler Street/Oakhurst area. A resident was woken when a brick and a large rock were thrown through the glass in the back door. The resident yelled at the suspects who fled the home and got into a white sedan, possibly a Honda or Nissan, that was last seen south on South Candler Street toward Memorial Drive. The suspects were described as four black males in their late teens. The home had an alarm that was not armed and a small dog.
Here’s the original alert from DPD from late last week, in case you missed it.
Latest from Decaturish
When was the last time our fine PD actually caught one of these guys? This is frustrating, to say the least.
It’s difficult, if not impossible, to catch them in the act. The PD builds a case based upon evidence at the scene and interviewing others in the vicinity. That’s why it’s so important to call if you see or hear anything that is the least bit out of sorts. It may not seem significant to you, but it may be a piece of the puzzle.
DPD needs our help, too. Not only as Steve suggests, but also in recording serial numbers. That was my big takeaway from when we were broken into last year – we not only got back some of our stuff, but they eventually arrested one of the perpetrators. That never would have happened if we didn’t have serial numbers on file…
DPD has caught some of these burglars- see link here, and I think that some of those that kicked a door in last Christmas in Oakhurst and were filmed doing it were also caught (though it took a while).
http://www.decaturmetro.com/2013/06/15/decatur-police-take-one-burglery-suspect-into-custody-looking-for-another/
Thanks for the reminder about serial numbers KC- we need to do that again.
A few years ago–I think it was 2009–the DPD did catch a guy responsible for a rash of break-ins in my neighborhood. I remember this especially because the detective called me herself to tell me the news, since I had called them after my car had been gone through.
Another problem is the judges giving these guys jail time. Too often they are put out on probation to continue committing these crimes. We need better, stricter judges in DeKalb.
Dawn, You won’t find a better panel of judges anywhere in metro Atlanta. DeKalb, for all of its failings (and there are many) has an exemplary judiciary. My law practice takes me throughout metro Atlanta. There was a time, long ago, that Cobb County was a better jurisdiction for business matters. Not anymore. I’ll take DeKalb judges any day.
Good points on DeKalb Judges. I have had a familial connection there: If I may add, few people realize how taxing it is for those who lend an appropriate diligence to the job.
It seems to me that in any given case 50% of the participants think thy judge did a great job and 50% would have a different opinion.
Raises another question: Who does sentencing in Superior Court? The judge or the jury? I know it’s the judge in federal court. Don’t know about state court though.
The judges always do the sentencing. The exception being in the case of the death penalty; and even still the judge can legally overrule the jury’s death verdict.
DPD, you guys are generally very good at what you do–pretty sure there’s a time/location pattern here, can we catch these [edited], please.
They could just set up a “sobriety checkpoint” on Candler and profile for these clowns – they’d have them in a couple days. My buds in the ACLU would have a fit, though.
Last summer…. my neighborhood was hit with a rash of robberies. It took awhile; but, finally, the dekalb police did catch several of the robbers.
It’s a bit of a pain, but installing hidden cameras to record faces, autos (and their license plates) would go a long way in fighting this type of crime.
Suggestions for a company that does this at a reasonable price for nonhandy homeowners?
@ At Home in Decatur: I don’t have a company suggestion. I’d start by searching a Kudzu/Yelp type website for reviews of local security companies and (electronic/computer savvy) handymen. You can learn a little about the technology and its user friendliness by reading the reviews of security kits at websites like Amazon.
At Home: There are hunters’ motion activated cameras that are pretty cheap and perfect for the job. They are battery powered, night vision, camouflaged, and hang on a tree. The HD images are simply stored on a SIM card.
Thanks for the recommendation MontyF. Off to the web reviews…
Yes I have been looking into these too. Much more cost effective than a video camera.
Calling Iteral, not Literal … Didn’t y’all do this a while back? How did it work?
Yes, we have a Truth Cam 35 that I got from Amazon (!) after reading many reviews. It has been great – very easy to use and to upload photos. We have loaned it out to, ahem, less than tech savvy, relatives who had no trouble getting pictures of nocturnal visitors under their house. I think we paid less than $150.
I just saw a lone individual casually walking on Kirk and stopping and using his phone. He took almost 8 minutes to go 4 house lengths. He looked out of place. I called the non emergency number with a good description of him and his clothes.
Someone has definitely been taking great care to watch houses in WP. They waited until we left last week to break in.
If you see something, call the police.
Good lick !
I’m very sorry you suffered a break-in, but calling the police on everyone who “looks out of place” is highly unlikely to accomplish anything other than harassment of law-abiding citizens and overburdening police by asking them to follow up on baseless tips. In this example, maybe this person was waiting for someone. Maybe he was lost. Maybe he had a lot of time on his hands and was calling a friend. In any case, based on your description, he wasn’t doing anything illegal. Looking “out of place” — an apt description of all of us at various points in our lives — isn’t a crime. It’s not even a reasonable basis for suspecting a crime.
Personally, sometimes I go out for long walks and look closely at houses I find interesting. I hope that innocent habit doesn’t end with a Q&A at police headquarters.
Agreed. And we know from the trial that’s in the news now how such incidents can escalate out of control.
Calling Decatur PD non-emergency number and informing them of someone/something that strikes you as odd or out of place does NOT result in them rushing off to arrest or even accost the person. My experience over the last 14 years is that DPD officers are not jack-booted thugs looking for any opportunity to intimidate citizens. What happens when you report something “off” is that DPD will unobtrusively check it out if feasible & they think it’s warranted; more importantly, probably, they add it to their store of information about what is or might be going on around the neighborhood. I’m as big a defender of civil liberties as anyone and more vehement than many, but at the same time, I believe we have mutual responsibilities to pay attention to what’s going on around us and communicate with each other.
BTW, comparing our professional, official law enforcement organization with George Zimmerman is groundless and inappropriate.
Most of the time, DPD just sends a unit to the general area where something was reported to look things over. If someone is going up and down a street casing houses, then just seeing a police car cruising by may be a deterrent.
I wasn’t comparing the police here to George Zimmerman. But the idea of people deciding who looks out of place or not is how that whole thing started. But you’re right that the comparison is groundless in that no one here has yet advocated following suspicious looking people around. Not yet anyway.
The description of this person was not of someone who was merely out of place, it was a person who fit the description–however vaguely-and who was acting strangely; burglars/robbers case houses, and the described behavior fits. Of course, it fits all kinds of innocent behavior as well, but when there are burglaries and home invasions in the area, it is better to err on the side of caution and let DPD do their job. If the description of the perpetrators was “a group of teenage white guys” or “a rabbi, a priest, and an imam,” that is what people would be looking for, and if anyone saw that trio, I would hope that they would call DPD.
This person was right to call the police, and suggesting that what they did was wrong and that such behavior is in any way akin to the Zimmerman case is unwarranted. Leave it up to the police to decide if they need to do anything or not.
If you call DPD on something and want to find out if anything came of it, you can probably call at a later time and ask.
There is a higher chance for it to escalate out of control if this person were to go outside and confront the person – even if it were to ask if they needed any help in a friendly manner. What they did was appropriate. Completely appropriate if this individual met the description of the people who are terrorizing our privacy/personal property. I am sorry but people just don’t linger around on the sidewalk in front of residential houses while talking on the phone. (My neighbors may do it but I know who they are.) Seriously, how many times does one see this happening?? Sure I see people walking and talking on the phone more frequently (but they continue to move forward). I see people near Marta bus stops doing this. I see people talking on the phone in the park and near non-residential areas. However, the bottom line is if you choose to carry on your phone conversation in a completely residential area while lingering in front of someone’s house you are going to creep them out if they have never seen you before. Everyone is on edge and hyper aware because daily we hear about another break in or attempt. There was an attempt Monday and a successful robbery in Midway Woods off of Midway around 11am. Who knows if the two are related? The bottom line is it needs to stop.
Yes, and no. If you know most of your neighbors, and you know there’s been a rash of burglaries, I say act on the side of caution. But if it’s a major road where many people cut through, and walk a lot, that may be a little different. It’s just a common sense use your judgment type of thing.
I have called the police twice for weirdness. And I can tell you, it is embarrassing, when you get a response from a 911 operator like Brian’s below, saying what’s suspicious? It kind of makes me feel slightly racist, oh white lady calling because she’s scared of black people walking in the neighborhood, but whatever. The one time I called it was because a man was standing dead in the middle of the road “pleasuring himself,” and I knew I was justified in making the call. The other time (a very long time ago btw) it was because 2 teenagers knocked on the door saying they were looking for a missing dog. When they left something was missing. By the time I realized it they were long gone, and I should have called sooner, but didn’t want to out because I didn’t want anyone thinking what I said above.
Everyone is sort of dancing around an issue here. The suspects are 4 black teenagers in a white car or van, if you see anyone matching this description in the neighborhoods being targeted or any near by, don’t feel like an idiot or racist for being concerned. Just call the police.
Do you think the thugs wear signs saying “I’m casing the joint!?”. They try to blend in, and whether they are currently committing a crime isn’t relevant.
People need to trust their instincts. If someone or something looks out of place, especially given the number of recent break-ins, call the police. Every single public statement by the police or other public officials says the same thing – call the police and let them investigate.
Thank you for your efforts in finding these scum. If I ever look out of place you are welcome to call the police and I will happily tell them what I’m up to and thank them for following up on the call of a concerned citizen.
Just how exactly does someone “look out of place” in your view?
I believe SAHM described someone who looked out of place but that is only one example. If something looks suspicious I will call the police and report it. Another example; I considered calling the police because I was traveling down Kirk last night behind a white sedan (reported in prior story as a car used in robbery) which traveled between 15 and 20 mph the whole way between wee-Kirk and Columbia. This is behavior exhibited by someone casing houses in my judgment.
Our neoghbor’s dog has escaped a few times in the last week, and I have helped look for him by driving slowly around the neighborhood. At one point, I thought that it might look to some folks like I was casing houses. If the police had pulled me over, I would not have been surprised or offended. Tey probably would have helped me find the dog.
I didn’t know you were one of the break-ins! That’s two I know now.
I am Mathew Morgan of Oakhurst Electric.
Yesterday I bought a 16 channel system for my own home in Oakhurst. I am getting tired of these crimes, and am about ready to discount my labor for installation of systems within Oakhurst that have good enough image quality to make good evidence. I’d be willing to do at least one discounted installation each week. Call me.
Let’s catch these guys
770-256-7174
A pretty good deal:
http://www.costco.com/Q-See-16-Channel-CIFD1-DVR-Security-System-with-1TB-Hard-Drive-and-8-600TVL-Cameras.product.100034415.html
Q-See makes a pretty decent and easy to use consumer grade product.
I’m curious as to how many of these break-ins occurred in houses with alarms and how prominently the alarm was advertised on windows, doors, etc. Anyone have the scoop?
we have a prominent sign as you walk up to our front porch as well as stickers on front door and windows….we were gone about 8 minutes from our house before our alarm company called us so it is pretty clear the loser thugs were watching us….
Scary
Love to get out of moderation any time here now DM…
The few times we had crime–minor theft from car, broken car window, stolen bicycle etc.–the Decatur Police have urged us to call for anything and everything. If you call for everything, you will not be considered biased. It’s when you are selective that your objectivity is called into question and hidden prejudices are suspected. So I call for anyone soliciting without a permit–religious types, college or high school students raising money, political fundraisers, anyone, for wrong home doorbell ringers, for folks wandering up and down the street aimlessly, for cars broken down on the street, for accidents. As far as I know, this approach works and the police response has been appropriate. I haven’t heard of any questionable responses except that one inicident a few years ago at the high school graduation, and that was unrelated to me or my street.
Just realized that I was a suspicious character over the weekend, strolling through Oakhurst neighborhood with my dog. I kept stopping to take pictures of houses – hope I didn’t scare the crap out of anyone. We’re about to get our house painted and are still deciding on colors. Saw some house colors I liked and snapped some photos.
But yeah, I’m glad people are being more vigilant since we’ve had our car broken into and items stolen from our porch in the past few months.
About being watched: In the mornings I used to frequent the McDonalds at the corner of Clairemont and North Decatur. A panhandler would always ask me questions about my motorcycle. I was living close by on Clairmont and I would often see this person walk by my house. One day my motorcycle was stolen. I then moved do a house on North Decatur half-way to Suburban. I bought a new motorcycle, and within a month it too, was stolen. Only a day before, the man had seen me and mentioned the address of my new home. These cost as much as a cheap car. I bought a new one. Within TWO days they tried to steal that one as well. That was fine year ago. I have since moved again.
This was posted on the East Atlanta Patch Facebook Page today. Just something else to look for that may be out of the ordinary.
East Atlanta Patch
CRIME ALERT: We’ve said it before so we’ll say it again…If someone knocks on your door asking for some random person, it’s likely a scam so CALL 911. EVERY TIME. NO EXCEPTIONS. If we want more police patrols in SE ATL, Maj. Meadows has to have the calls for service logs to justify the additional personell.
To wit:
In Ormewood Park today: At about 6pm, an AA male around 17 years old with braids knocked on a homeowner’s door asking for someone named “Ashley.” Homeowner told him he had the wrong house. (With mobiles as ubiquitous as they are, the “I’m looking for so-and-so’s house scam shouldn’t fool anyone.)
He got in a waiting gray Dodge Ram Quad Cab that had backed into the homeowner’s driveway. Homeowner watched another AA male also get into the truck who had walked from a different location. The truck then drove north on Woodland towards Eden.
That same truck That truck was involved in a break in at 6:15 PM, today, at the corner of Eden and Eastwood. Owners were not at home.
Another home on McPherson avenue involving a gray pickup truck was burglarized in East Atlanta
APD didn’t catch them: NO CALLS RECEIVED IN ADVANCE to indicate potential problem, until the burglaries happened.
Please: 9-1-1.
Really good information and thank you for posting. It’s starting to sound like everything we’ve read over the past couple of months indicates these are more than the sporadic burglaries here and there, but more like a burglary ring of some sort. Obviously the cars will change because they are stolen. Kind of scary because lots of kids are probably hanging out at home for the summer.