A Community Discussion
Decatur Metro | December 10, 2014 | 9:44 amAs everyone is probably aware at this point, a terrible crime was committed in downtown Decatur last Saturday night. Since then we’ve slowly learned details of what’s happened, but much is left unknown to the general public at this point.
I’ve closed comments on previous posts surrounding this issue, which reported specifically on the victim. However, I agree that there needs to be a place for the community to discuss the multitude of issues and concerns in the wake of this event.
This post is open to the community to do just that.
If you haven’t reviewed our commenting policy in a while, you can read it here.
Be well.
Thank you, DM.
DM, I want to add my thanks to you for always emphasizing community when a tragedy happens. You truly get that being a community site means balancing information with opportunities for thoughtful discussion and personal expression. As a result, we almost always end up emerging with a strengthened sense of community. How you do what you do is invaluable and so very appreciated.
Heartfelt condolences to the family of this poor lady. I hope they apprehend the person or people responsible asap. It would be terrible for everyone if this went unsolved. The family needs to know what happened, and people here have to be free from fear of walking around their own city.
In that vein, are there police-controlled cameras set up around the city center? I know these are standard in other cities. With random criminal acts, and I know we don’t know if this is random yet, it seems the only way to identify criminals if there are no eyewitnesses.
This is a tragedy, no doubt. While it seems 99.99999% likely that this was a targeted personal attack, without information to go on there remains the specter that it wasn’t random and that we should be exercising caution.
I think we need to be careful here. Unfortunately, the best we can hope for is this being a targeted personal attack. With the known information, I don’t think we can speculate one way or the other at this point. Someone can just as easily speculate with 99.999% certainty on other theories.
Why does that seem like the likely conclusion?
It seems like the likely conclusion because the majority of homicides in the United States the victim and the offender are known to each other. My level of certainty is obviously an exaggeration, but it seems unlikely that that parking lot is now unsafe because one truly horrific senseless act took place there.
I actually do think that parking area is unsafe, as are some other isolated spots in town – places where if you are alone and encounter someone with bad intentions it is very unlikely that anyone will hear or see you in time to help. Even if you know the person who is harming you – they are less likely to do so in an area with security measures.
Obviously we can’t protect everyone from everything all the time…but we can try.
Agree. And even if it’s a misperception that the lots are unsafe, it hurts Decatur’s reputation as a good destination for food, drink, and shopping if folks perceive the lots as risky.
+1
Which is why I hope the City gets involved in helping to identify and address any issues like lighting or maintaining landscaping. We have talked about lighting when other crimes have occurred. I think it is time to press City leaders for action. Even if it is ultimately up to the property owner, the City should use their influence to try and affect actual changes. Getting Dekalb County to address any issues in their deck would be a mighty fine place to start.
where are the security cameras? Please have police patrol parking decks and unlit areas. Decatur at night is Thriving and I would like to see police out in droves .
Thank you, DM. This incident has been not far from my thoughts all week.
I hope that the police are able to find who did this quickly, and I think the less the perpetrator knows about how much the police know, the more likely this can be solved.
It may be difficult for residents who would like as much information as possible (did anyone hear an argument, was the person’s purse/ID stolen, etc.) to assuage our own fears, but, in reality, nothing will do that better than having this person caught quickly.
I am glad to know that they will be increasing patrols in the downtown area.
Someone lost their precious daughter. My heart breaks for them.
My heart goes out to the victim’s family, particularly her parents, who are no doubt devastated to have lost their daughter in such a senseless, cruel manner.
I feel anger toward the perpetrator(s)–why? Why would you do such a thing?
I’m hoping the community comes together and starts watching out for one another a little more closely–paying attention more to our surroundings & the people around us can help prevent tragedies like this, because most criminals are wary of doing their dirt when they know lots of people are looking. Or, at the very least, it can help authorities identify much sooner those who commit such barbaric acts.
No matter our differences in race, religion, or socioeconomic status, we are our brothers’ & sisters’ keepers. Let’s try to remember that.
Peace, everyone.
In conversations with friends and neighbors over the last 3 days, it’s been mentioned several times that many of the parking decks downtown seem under lit, deserted, and creepy at night. Some have said that they often choose to walk Downtown, pay for the more open “Raging Burrito Parking Lot”, or just stay home because those choices seem safer. Can the City or County create ordinances that require better lighting? Or if such ordinances already exist, enforce them better? I think such ordinances would be good for Downtown business, and even for the parking decks themselves, in the long run.
Agree on the lack of lighting, especially in many parking areas. I wonder if the DBA or the City could get involved to help businesses realize where lighting is lacking? A small flood light on the side of a building would probably cost less then $500 to install.
+1
There is probably an ordinance already. However, the threat of civil liability, especially now after this tragedy, will probably motivate landowners more than anything, without creating a need to have code enforcement officers patrolling at night.
Landowners can be liable for inadequate security in their parking lots, particularly when they are charging money and have no attendant there. The insurance companies for these buildings will make them upgrade or they won’t provide coverage.
So how do we get traction with the parking lot landowners? So far, the threat of civil liability doesn’t seem to have motivated them to improve the lighting. And for the county lot, which often has lights not functioning, how would one motivate the County which doesn’t seem motivated by much of anything these days.
You could find out who owns the properties and send them a letter by certified mail notifying them of the shooting and the need for adequate security, or the city could do that. This would raise the consequences for inaction astronomically because it would make it impossible for them to deny they knew the risks of inadequate security.
Unfortunately, though, this will not guarantee anything.
The county will be less inclined than anyone to act because of their governmental immunities from civil suits. Moreover, the county parking is free, so there is less of a duty to provide security than with a pay lot.
Is it free all the time or just after 6 PM and on weekends?
Weekends and any day after 6.
If you’re inclined to contact the owners of the parking deck with your concerns, it is owned by DTC Partners II, LLC and Euclid DTC,LLC. Per the Secretary of State website, they have two listed addresses (both entities list both addresses):
303 Peachtree Street, Suite 4440
Atlanta, GA 30308
901 Ponce de Leon Blvd, Suite 505
Coral Gables, FL 33134
The authorized agent for both companies is Raymond P. Sheley.
No, I’m not a Reddit troll, just a friendly neighborhood real estate title examiner. 🙂
Woman carjacked at Phipps Plaza over the summer is currently suing the mall owner, results TBD. Also it would be a real discredit to the seriousness of this crime if this thread turns into a discussion of parking minimums and transit.
I agree. In addition to better lighting, perhaps anyone charging for parking should also be required to provide a security guard or attendant? Something as simple as knowing that other people are always nearby could save a life.
Thank you, DM, for opening this conversation and for your respectful coverage of Ms. Pearce. I didn’t know her, but I have been thinking of her often, and wishing this had not happened.
Whenever someone asks me where to park here when coming for dinner, I always recommend the open lot near Raging Burrito.
Me too, though that lot now has a tendency to get full during peak weekend/ Thurs dinner hours leaving drivers to find parking elsewhere.
In college, when I was out late studying on campus, I could always call Public Safety and ask for an escort to my car in the creepy, deserted parking lot. I usually had to wait a while for an officer. But I always felt safer than going alone.
I know that our police force can’t escort every solo driver to his/her car. But could we, as a community do this? Formally or informally? If you’re with other people, walk in a group. If you’re alone, ask the business you’re patronizing if someone can walk you to your car. (Or is that unreasonable?)
I agree. But in addition to better lighting in these parking areas, I’m in favor of more security cameras in public areas downtown, as Moderate already suggested.
DM, thank you for the respectful and appropriate way you’ve managed this conversation online. My family’s heartfelt condolences go out to the victim’s family and friends. An act like this, in an area where we all park, walk, and socialize, is indeed scary for the entire community. I hope the that justice can be both swift and thorough.
A reward fund has been set up with Crime Stoppers: https://fundly.com/reward-fund-for-karen-pearce
My condolences to the victim’s family, such a tragedy.
The City of Decatur police offer a free women’s R.A.D. Systems of Self Defense class. I took this course back in the early spring, and I highly recommend it. I learned so much, and got a lot out of it. It’s very empowering. Plus they invite you back for refresher classes for free. Contact Sgt. Jennifer Ross for upcoming class dates.
That is great to know. I took R.A.D. 15+ years ago in college, after one of my sorority sisters was attacked in her dorm room. I don’t remember much from many of my academic classes, but that class has stuck with me.
This incident frightens and infuriates me. I would like to know only one thing from the police: is there or is there not an armed killer loose in our town who has targeted a random person? If the answer is either yes or we don’t know, I am not parking downtown after dark unless it’s directly on the square. Secondly, if this was a robbery gone bad, I am disappointed that we seem to have tolerated a certain number of these types of crimes, such that this could happen in the middle of our downtown.
I hear your frustration. I am scared too. And I mourn for the victim and her family.
But I think that we need to take care in what we expect from our police force. I don’t think that the police (or we as residents of Decatur) have “tolerated” any armed robberies. The response of our police department to such crimes has been swift and sure. A number of persons who have (allegedly) committed burglaries or robberies have been caught.
As for the information that you want from the police, yes, we all want answers to those questions. But the police simply cannot tell us everything they know if it would hamper their investigation. We are not entitled to do that. The victim’s family (and all of us, really) deserve a thorough, well-run investigation. And if that means that we have to wait for answers to many of our questions, then so be it.
I know that we want action. We want answers. We want to fix this now. But we don’t really have control over things like this. It’s a hard pill to swallow, but there are so many things in life that we just cannot control.
Nailed it.
I agree with you in general but my response in the meantime may be to spend less time downtown at night. With respect to tolerating crime, I appreciate that the police have been responsive, but could we do more to be proactive? I am willing to leave that one alone until we know more about what actually happened…
agreed!
I agree with Revenue Neutral Household. The police can’t be everywhere all the time to prevent things like this unfortunately. That’s asking too much. I’m sure they’re doing there best on the back end and we will know the details is due time.
As for parking, now that the Raging Burrito parking lot is such a pain in the butt, my husband and I have been parking in the garage behind the courthouse. It’s free, close, and mostly empty. I’m obviously rethinking that strategy! My young son is usually with us when we’re going out to dinner and the thought of running into trouble in there terrifies me. Not sure what we’ll do otherwise. Decatur has become a real challenge in the parking department. It really influences our decision in where we dine during peak days/times.
Obviously this most recent event has made some people more wary of parking garages as well it should, but this concern aside parking is not a problem in Decatur. The notion that we should all be able to pull right up in front of the store or restaurant that we are visiting and just run inside is totally preposterous. I park in the the municipal deck all the time and it is practically empty. It takes less than 5 minutes to get from there to the square. That’s good parking. We don’t need more parking. We need better lighting.
Agreed. The municipal deck is a great choice, but it’s in need of repair. Lights on the top level are rusted over, and fixtures on the lower levels need to be serviced and supplemented.
I park in the deck frequently with my contingent of small children and appreciate the ability to do so!
It’s not a “municipal deck”, it’s owned by the DeKalb County. Decatur does not have a City-owned parking deck.
Steve is right. At any rate, it’s a good place to park, but I wish it was better lit. (Also, a good power washing couldn’t hurt.)
“Decatur has become a real challenge in the parking department. It really influences our decision in where we dine during peak days/times.”
I know it’s perhaps not practical with young children or coming from certain locations, but if I didn’t live here and couldn’t get here on MARTA, I would use Uber/Lyft rather than dealing with the parking. I wonder if some people (not implying this includes you, Gina) who park here realize just how inexpensive Uber X is within a five mile range.
Another strategy I would use is parking at either East Lake or Avondale MARTA station and taking the train one stop. Again, not practical for some, but can be much less of a hassle than parking downtown, especially when there are festivals.
I agree Uber is a great option but not feasible at all with kids still in car seats. I think more valet parking would help – so many restaurants in Buckhead and Midtown offer it for free or a nominal fee. Why don’t our Decatur restaurants?
Somebody on Decatur Metro just asked why we can’t be more like Buckhead. That’s it, I don’t need to hear anymore. Listing the house tomorrow and moving to Alpharetta!
Ha! By no means suggesting we emulate Buckhead on all fronts – but perhaps we can learn something by how other parts of town that preceded us as dining/drinking destinations have managed parking issues.
We do not need more valet parking. People should consider biking and walking (strollers if necessary) more places. You can even ride a bike at night.
How would that solve the problem at hand? We are now a destination for people from all over the metro area. Not everyone has the luxury of living close enough to the Square to walk or bike. And in this real estate market, it is a luxury.
There’s valet right in front of Leon’s (on the other side of the street). And there used to be valet further down the street — across from Noodle — but I haven’t noticed them recently. Perhaps they stopped due to slow demand? Or do I just not get out enough anymore?
My feeling is this is just not a valet parking kind of town, so maybe they weren’t drawing enough customers.
Plenty of crime issues at East Lake MARTA; it’s not a great place to leave your car. And that poor man mugged for his laptop in Kirkwood last night in front of his home lived a block from East Lake MARTA.
Not familiar with parking at that station myself (I have used Avondale before, though it’s been 7+ years), but I will point out that the suspects in the case you mentioned fled the scene in a car.
We also always park in the free deck after 6pm. I’ve never felt totally safe and this sure isn’t helping. Senseless crime no matter the reason.
Agreed. I park there all the time, but i am hyper aware when I do. It just doesn’t “feel” safe.
Disagree. I park there all the time. It’s as safe as anywhere else downtown – day or night.
We were just stating how we felt, WB. We did not say it wasn’t safe. And I’m not sure you can’t know whether it is as safe as everywhere else. The fact that it is basically empty at night is what does it for me.
And I was putting it out there that I feel perfectly safe in that deck and always have. I’m not trying to take your opinion from you. Just wanted to make it known that not everyone feels unsafe there.
FYI – you can exit the county deck on the second level (north end) and be on the MARTA plaza at Swanton way, as opposed to standing on Trinity (which feels a lot more desolate). Though I don’t know if you can re-enter through that door. I see people exit it all the time in the AM when I am walking to the MARTA station.
Yes, that is the way I go. You can enter and exit on any floor on that side.
It’s the ONLY way I would go. Trinity is a concrete wasteland by the parking deck and UPHILL!
This is what we always do. There is always parking very close to the exit door and up a short flight of stairs takes you to the Marta bus area which is typically heavily populated. I have never felt concerned that I was vulnerable or isolated when parking here and taking this route. That said, I usually don’t get out much after 9pm.
My first thought is for this beautiful person who lost her life so tragically. I hope hope they find her killer fast, not just for the community, but mostly to bring her family some small bit of peace in the middle of the hell they must be living through.
I have started park in the deck a good bit over the past few months when going to dinner. But I am rethinking this. I hate this paranoid knee-jerk reaction I seem to be having, but is it actually safe? I will be avoiding it for a while whether my fear is grounded in reality or not.
friends, neighbors . . .
we are the same city we were four days ago.
yes, this was a terrible tragedy; a senseless loss of life
but it is an anomaly in the extreme for Decatur
what happened to Karen Pearce (RIP) should not rob the entire city of its general sense of security—that would be a crime too
each of us will die
but the probabilities of that happening on our streets at the end of a gun or knife
are nearly negligible
we most honor those who die by living our boldest lives
not by being prisoner to our fears
+1
No offense intended but men and women think about personal security very differently. While your words are true, they are much truer for men than they are for women or even children. Encouraging people to ignore their instincts and push through being scared is not terribly helpful. It is much more productive to make suggestions that foster a new sense of security and safety.
I think it’s just a shocking reminder not to be complacent and not to let your guard down.
Even in my own family, we’ve considered Decatur “safe” in the last 10-15 years, despite the occasional robbery or mugging. Compared to my “urban living” years, when I had my head on a swivel and self defense in my pocket, Decatur seems like Mr Rogers’ neighborhood. But it only takes one unguarded instant….even here.
So be smart and be safe – travel in groups at night, trust your instincts, be wary and suspicious and don’t take any chances.
I’m terribly sorry for the victim’s friends and family, and I’m sorry that it takes something so tragic to remind us to remain vigilant – always.
I have no doubt that between DPD, GBI, and other agencies we will find the piece of garbage that did this. And I look forward to this community supporting Karen’s family when they come to Decatur for justice.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2870061/Police-hunt-killer-popular-hairdresser-44-gunned-botched-robbery-headed-car-dinner.html
Why is this making international news? Not to diminish it, but find it strange this murder story out of many murder stories makes it to a UK newspaper.
1: It’s the Daily Mail, which is about as serious and rigorous a news source as… let’s say the National Enquirer.
2: It’s, unfortunately, a “sexy” crime – a beautiful woman gunned down under mysterious circumstances in a hot restaurant district, no witnesses, killer on the loose, etc.
Ticks me off that folks in the UK have more relevant info that we do. That fact (presumably) that this was a botched robbery is important information that those of us who try to keep it indecatur need to know. I love Leon,s, go there often, park in that same lot. If we have a predator in our midst this is info I need to know, not so that I run and hide in a bomb shelter or something, but so I have a better idea what the known dangers are and can make an informed decision.
Decatur is not all together safe. It is not unsafe either, but probably on par with any of the other intown affluent neighborhoods – lake Claire, candler park, Inman park. These areas attract predators, especially when they are a short 4 door sedan drive away from not so nice areas. The more informed we can be the more safe we will be.
I understand the frustration, but help me understand why knowing more about this particular case adds to safety. We already know there are armed robbers, that robberies spike in December, and that any robbery has the potential to end like this one did. Not trying to be contentious, but even if this had been a crime of passion or something, how would that make parking decks here any more safe?
Agreed. Going to resist the urge to speculate as to why.
A quick search reveals the reporter who wrote the article is an Emory alum. Might explain how the story came to her attention.