From the City of Decatur’s Linda Harris…

On Saturday, July 6, 2013 at approximately 12:30 pm, there was a robbery by snatch in the 100 block of New Street.  A female was working alone in a front office with the front door propped open when the two suspects entered and stated they were lost and begged to use a bathroom.  The victim stated there was no bathroom but one suspect continued to beg and asked if he could cut through the space to go outside and relieve himself.  The victim allowed him to do so and upon his return, that suspect pushed the victim from her chair toward the floor while the other suspect grabbed a laptop and the victim’s purse off the table where she had been working.  Both suspects fled into the parking lot.  The victim observed the suspects enter a silver 2011 Mercedes Benz E350 displaying GA tag #PFH1139 and flee toward East College Avenue.  The Mercedes Benz was previously reported stolen to the DeKalb County Police Department.  No weapons were shown and there was not a threat to use a weapon. The victim was not harmed.  Investigators are working with the Atlanta Police Department on a possible lead involving the victim’s phone being tracked to an area in southwest Atlanta shortly after the robbery.

Update:

Further investigation revealed video footage at the location where the keys and silver Mercedes were previously stolen on July 4, 2013. In that case three male suspects entered a music store in DeKalb County and inquired about merchandise. Once the suspects left the location, an employee noticed his keys were missing and subsequently his vehicle was missing from the parking lot.  Surveillance video revealed one of the suspects taking the vehicle from the parking lot.

Additionally, the same vehicle was involved in a theft on July 5, 2013.  In that case, a male suspect entered a business in DeKalb County and asked to use the bathroom.  When the employee was distracted, the suspect grabbed her iPhone off of the counter and fled outside to the same silver Mercedes which was occupied by another male suspect.

The stolen silver Mercedes was found abandoned in south west Atlanta on July 9, 2013.

If you recognize any of the suspects in these photos or have any additional information, please contact Sgt. Jennifer S. Ross at or

Information on the case can be submitted anonymously to the Crime Stoppers Atlanta tip line at 404-577-TIPS (8477), online www.crimestoppersatlanta.org or by texting CSA and the tip to CRIMES (274637). Persons do not have to give their name or any identifying information to be eligible for the reward of up to $2,000.

Security camera photos of the suspects after the jump…

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From Deputy Police Chief Keith Lee…

On July 2, 2013 at approximately 5:27 pm, there was an armed robbery of three women in Oakhurst Park.  The victims were in the playground area and initially observed the suspects, described as three black males in their mid to late teens, sitting on a nearby wall.

One suspect then approached the victims and went through a blanket on the ground and took a cell phone belonging to one of the victims and fled on foot toward Third Avenue.  A male witness pursued the suspect but returned back to the playground area.

A second suspect tried to talk to one of the victims and was ignored.  He then began going through a stroller bag belonging to another victim. It was reported that keys for one of the victims’ vehicle were taken from the stroller bag and subsequently a maroon Honda CRV was stolen from the parking area on Third Avenue.

The third suspect approached one of the victims, pulled out a small handgun and fired one shot, described as a pop, into the air and demanded her iPhone.  She refused and he pointed the gun at her and tried to grab the phone.  She retained her phone and verbally refused to relinquish the phone.  The remaining two suspects then fled on foot toward Third Avenue where another witness reported seeing the suspects enter a newer model red Ford Explorer and a maroon SUV and flee toward East Lake Drive.

As part of the investigation, it was determined that a Ford Explorer matching the description of the one driven by the suspects had been stolen from an Edgewood neighborhood earlier in the day.  Decatur Police have recovered evidence from the scene and are working with Atlanta Police and DeKalb Police on what appear to be related cases.   For the past several weeks, Decatur Police have used overtime assignments and reassigned staff to address increased criminal activity in the area.  Those efforts will continue and be on-going. Please report any non-emergency suspicious activity to the Decatur Police at 404-373-6551 or in the case of an immediate emergency dial 9-1-1.

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.

A 1924 pic of Decatur’s first police car over on Next Stop…Decatur is must see.

Also, Dennis has a 1957 pic of East Courthouse Square on his Flickr page that is quite interesting; mostly because the block is nearly unrecognizable.

In the midst of a dog walk last night, we saw the aftermath of this accident at the eastern intersection of Ponce and Commerce.

A crushed car on the sidewalk.  Decatur and DeKalb police and fire on the scene.  Police tape across the intersection and smoke rising from the center of the action.  I’m now kicking myself for not taking a blurry pic with my cameraphone.

Though I couldn’t get much info from anyone at the scene, the rumor mill is full of info this morning.  Robbie tweets in response to Andisheh that the crash is the result of a police chase and that one suspect fled on foot.

Lynne writes in with a report from an eyewitness that reasserts that the driver fled.

A work colleague saw a terrible car wreck early evening on Thursday at the corner of Commerce and E. Ponce (near Decatur First Methodist Church). A black SUV sped through a red light heading west on Ponce, and crashed into the line of waiting cars going east. One woman had to be cut out of her car. The driver of the vehicle that ran the light got out of his car and ran away on foot. Anyone know anything more?

I’m trying to get confirmation from Decatur PD on all of this.  Stay tuned.

UPDATE: Police Chief Booker provided details in the comments section.