DPD Alert: The Pinewood Robbed Around Midnight Last Night

From Decatur Police…

On Friday, May 26, 2017 at approximately 12:00 am, Decatur Police responded to The Pinewood Restaurant in the 200 block of West Ponce De Leon Avenue in reference to an armed robbery. An employee stated she was exiting the rear of the business when one suspect pointed a handgun at her, forced her to her knees and began asking questions about how many people were still inside and where money was kept. She was forced back into the restaurant and placed on the floor. Two suspects entered the business and rounded up the additional four victims inside of the restaurant.  The victims were placed on the floor with their hands bound and questioned about the whereabouts of cash. The suspects also demanded car keys, cell phones, wallets and weapons.  The suspects took cash from the business and the personal belongings (purses, wallets, phones, keys) from the five victims and fled. The business was closed at the time of the robbery. No injuries were reported. The suspects were described as follows:

Suspect #1: Black male, early to mid-20’s, approximately 5’5” with a slender build, wearing a dark (possibly gray) hooded sweatshirt, black mask, gloves, blue jeans and armed with a handgun.

Suspect #2: Black male, early to mid-20’s, approximately 5’8” with a slender build, wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, black mask, gloves, blue jeans and armed with a handgun.

Scary.  Glad no one was injured.

Man Walked Into Marlay This Morning; Allegedly Took From Register

marlay

From Decatur PD…

On Monday, November 7, 2016 at approximately 10:42 am, Decatur Police responded to The Marlay in the 400 block of West Ponce de Leon Avenue in reference to theft of money from a cash register.  The complainant reported the business was not yet open but the door was unlocked for deliveries and for employees to enter.  The area where the cash register was located was unoccupied for a brief period and an employee noticed an unknown man behind the counter and called out to him and the unknown man left the business on foot traveling  eastbound on West Ponce de Leon Avenue. It was then discovered that $290.00 was missing from the register and surveillance video confirmed the unknown man seen by an employee took the money from the register.  The suspect was described as a black male, 30’s-40’s, approximately 5’8, medium build but with a noticeable belly, medium complexion, with a mustache and full beard, wearing a black skull cap, black zip-up hooded jacket, light green shirt and blue/black/gray camouflage pants.

Marlay House owner Darren Comer also wrote in and sent a photo/video of the suspect entering the Marlay…

This fine gentleman decided to come into the Marlay around 10.40am today – the time change is not updated on the video.  The Front door was open (for a delivery) and the front area was unoccupied as the Front of House crew was in the back prepping for the day.  We normally lock it until open but failed on this occasion.
He took the opportunity to come behind the bar and raid the Bartender till of cash.  Our Chef came out, found him and chased him away.  It all happened in about 60 seconds or less.
Decatur PD were right on it but he was long gone when they came.  Our videos have all the internal detail of the act so there is no question of any false accusations here.  Police have the files also.
The video shows that he came from the Farm Burger / Chai Pani lot and had likely been scoping them out for a similar opportunity.
No harm to remind all of us these types of thieves are out there and to keep a keen eye out, doors locked.

Photo and video courtesy of Marlay security camera

Chart: Decatur Annual Crime Trend 1996-2015

decatur-crime-15

After our 2016 Crime stats post a couple of days back, Matt was good enough to update the Decatur crime bar chart that he created for us back in 2013.

Thanks Matt!

Decatur Police Ask For Help Identifying Robbery Suspect

0-48

Decatur Police sent out this alert:

Decatur Police are attempting to identify the suspect in the attached photos regarding a robbery that occurred on Tuesday, October 25, 2016.  The suspect snatched the victim’s keys from the table she was sitting at and subsequently stole her vehicle from the parking lot.  If you recognize the suspect or have any information about this incident please contact Inv. Zachery at [email protected] or  or contact Crime Stoppers Atlanta at 404/577-TIPS (8477) or text a tip to “CRIMES” (274637).

Synopsis of Incident:

On Tuesday, October 25, 2016 at approximately 2:29 pm, Decatur Police responded to a vehicle theft that just occurred in the 700 block of West College Avenue.  One suspect snatched the keys to the victim’s vehicle off of a table she was sitting at inside of The Imperial restaurant.  Witnesses chased the suspect to the rear of the restaurant and suspect #1 tried to pass off the stolen keys to a second suspect who was waiting outside.  The key exchange did not happen because the witnesses were attempting to intervene.  The witnesses kept suspect #1 from entering the driver’s side of the vehicle so he ran around to the passenger side.  Suspect #2 could not get into the vehicle before suspect #1 was able to get it started and flee.  Suspect #2 fled on foot and the witnesses pursued him to the 900 block of West College Avenue and held him until police arrived.   The stolen vehicle is a 2016 dark gray Toyota Camry with a temporary tag.  Suspect #2 provided a false name and date of birth to police but was later identified as 22-year-old Royland Burdett.  Burdett was charged with criminal attempt to commit theft of a motor vehicle and giving false information to a law enforcement officer.

2016 Decatur Crime Stats: Property Crime Down; Robberies Up

screen-shot-2016-10-28-at-8-40-58-am

The latest Decatur crime stats through September, provided by the Decatur Police Department, show that crime overall is down vs. last year, though there has been an increase in certain crimes against people so far this year.

So far in 2016, total crimes committed in the city have been lower each month vs. the same month in 2015.  This is due mainly to declines in larceny, burglaries, and motor vehicle thefts.  Other crimes are basically inline with last year’s level, with the large exception of the murder of Gerald Wilson at the Allen Wilson Apartments in July (there were no homicides in Decatur in 2015) and an increase in robberies.  There have already been more robberies in 2016 than in all of 2015.

Though news and word-of-mouth reports of crime in Decatur are probably more prevalent in the present day than ever, a more macro look shows that Decatur’s overall crime rate remains around some its lowest levels in the past 20 years.  However, crime levels have seemed to have crept up a bit from the low of 691 total crimes in 2011.  (You can check out an Annual Crime Stats bar chart 1996-2013 HERE.)

Decatur Police Alert: Two Attempted Armed Robberies Reported in Last 24 Hours

police department

Decatur PD sent out two alerts regarding attempted armed robberies in the last 24 hours.  Decaturish reports that DPD hasn’t ruled out that they aren’t connected.

Here’s the first from late last night…

On Thursday, August 4, 2016 at approximately 6:42 pm, Decatur Police responded to a report of gunfire in the 100 block of Mead Road.  Officers arrived in the area and located two males who reported they came to Oakhurst Elementary as a safe place to sell two pair of shoes through a transaction made on a buy/sell app.  They initially met with the potential buyers, two males, behind the school but were worried the transaction was not legitimate and left.  The two males contacted them back and asked that they return to sell the shoes.  They met with one of the potential customers near the adjacent playground but he did not have enough money to pay the agreed upon price.  The second male suddenly appeared from behind the school and fired a gunshot toward the victims.  The victims fled to their vehicle and the suspects fled toward Feld Avenue.  The victims were not struck by the gunshot but one victim sustained a scrape to his thigh after falling down while running.  The suspects were described as follows:

Suspect #1: Black male, late teens-early 20’s, slender build, approximately 5’6″-5’9″, light complexion, wearing dark shorts, a light colored shirt and Nike shoes.

Suspect #2: Black male, late teens-early 20’s, stocky build, approximately 6” tall, medium complexion, wearing dark pants, a blue or black hooded sweatshirt and armed with a black handgun.

Please exercise extreme caution when arranging to meet to conduct purchases made through online websites and apps.  The front lobby of the Decatur Police Department is open 24 hours a day and can easily be used as a meeting place.  If a seller refuses to meet at a police department, you may want to avoid making the purchase.  Trust your instincts and back out of any meeting or transaction where you feel suspicious or unsafe.

And here’s the second…

On Thursday, August 4, 2016 at approximately 10:58 pm, Decatur Police responded to the front lobby of the police department in reference to a previous armed robbery. The complainants reported that both of their daughters had been victims of an armed robbery attempt. The two victims, who are 15 and 16-years-old, reported that at approximately 10:00 pm they were walking northbound within the crosswalk on Church Street at its intersection with Forkner Drive when they observed the two suspects quickly approaching them from behind. Both of the suspects started shouting, “Give me your phone, and your wallet!” One suspect was initially pointing a handgun at the ground while they demanded the cell phone and wallet. The victims became upset, started crying and started shouting, “No please don’t!”.  The armed suspect pointed the handgun towards them and again demanded the wallet and cell phone. The victims began screaming at which point both suspects fled on foot southbound on Forkner Drive. The victims fled north on Church Street and ran home.   The victims were not physically hurt and no items were taken.  The suspects were described as follows:

Suspect #1: Black male, approximately 17-19 years old, light complexion, approximately  5’11” tall, no facial hair, wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, blue jeans, white shoes and armed with a black handgun.

Suspect #2: Black male, approximately 17-19 years old, medium complexion, approximately 5’11” tall, obese, short hair and wearing a red t-shirt.

 While it is scary to even consider, it is important to talk to teens about what to do if they are confronted with these types of situations.  Please stress to them that NO ITEM IS WORTH YOUR LIFE.  Things can be replaced.  People cannot be replaced.  Talk through potential scenarios with them and come up with ideas of what they could do.  Stress being aware and not distracted by things like their phones, trusting their instincts when something feels wrong or they feel unsafe and changing their path and cooperating with giving up their property if confronted with a robbery.  The most important thing is that they are safe.

Fund Established For Family of Decatur Murder Victim

Gerard Foster

A concerned local resident has established a GoFundMe fund to help the family of murder victim Gerald Foster, who was murdered at the Allen Wilson Apartments in Decatur on July 6th.  He left behind a wife, 7 children and two grandchildren, according to his obituary.

Here’s an excerpt from the GoFundMe page…

Gerard was married just over a year to an established City of Decatur resident and mother to two CSD students.  During this time of grief for the family this campaign has been created to express condolences, show support and help in a small way to defer costs associated with this tragedy.

Photo courtesy of GoFundMe page