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.

From Decatur Police’s Jennifer Ross…

On July 1st, 2013 at approximately 10:30 pm, there was an attempted robbery of a single male sitting in his front yard in the 300 block of Second Avenue who was working on his laptop. The suspects circled the block in what appeared to be a light colored Mitsubishi SUV and returned approximately 10-15 minutes later. Two black males exited the SUV and approached the victim initially asking for directions but then demanded the laptop. The victim verbally refused. One suspect then pointed and fired what appeared to be a cap gun down the driveway, away from the victim. The victim fled to his porch and the other suspect ran after him. The victim struck the suspect in the face with a beer bottle and kicked him in the groin. The suspect struck the victim in the face with a closed fist. The victim fled inside of the house and called police. The suspects fled back to the vehicle and left the area. No items were taken.

Brent sends in this surveillance cam video of a suspect who stole a laptop from a neighboring office on Decatur Square this morning around 10:20am.

If you see or recognize the guy at the beginning of this video, please contact Decatur Police immediately.

All residents, especially those that live in and around Sycamore Heights and Glenwood Estates, be on the look out for suspicious activity that is similar to either the aforementioned Glenlake assault and robbery or the Ridgeland assault and robbery described by Chris below.

I don’t know if this is related, but this afternoon between 5:30 and 6:00 an elderly man on Ridgeland Avenue (which is fairly close to Glendale) reported that two men broke into his house, assaulted him, and stole his money. I spoke with him briefly and saw that he’d been pretty severely beaten-he was bleeding fairly profusely from his face and had a large bruise forming on his eye. I told the police that as I was walking home on Sycamore Ave, I saw two young black males (18-22) running from the scene-one wearing a white tank top and, I think jeans. The other was wearing blue or purple shorts and no shirt, but may have been carrying a dark shirt in his hand.

The two crimes do appear to be very similar – including the time of day (around 6p) – and could indeed be related, but we’ll await final word from DPD on that.

Please be safe and a bit more cautious than usual out there.

Anne forwards this bulletin from Decatur PD…

NEWS ALERT

On Thursday April 9, 2009 the Decatur Police Department responded to a report of an armed robbery at the Oakview Grocery store. No one was injured in the incident, but the store employee stated he was threatened by the suspects who brandished firearms. The victim stated the suspects were two African-american males and a white female. The suspects fled the area in a black Jeep Cherokee with New York license plate. The suspects are described as: Read the rest of this entry »