Great news from a press release just sent in by Deputy Police Chief Keith Lee…

Decatur Police have arrested 21-year-old Seth Shammah Ben Israel of Stone Mountain for a series of entering autos that occurred in Decatur during the month of May. Residents from Clarion/ Nelson Ferry/Woodlawn/Fairfield/Garden reported (9) entering autos which occurred overnight, May 15th-16th. Residents of the Great Lakes neighborhood then reported (28) vehicles entered overnight, May 21st-22nd. Israel was targeting unsecured vehicles parked in driveways and on the street and taking items such as change, currency, credit cards, GPS systems, iPods and cell phones. Further investigation revealed a great deal of pawn activity by Israel in recent months and led investigators to other victims in Atlanta and DeKalb County.

Israel was identified through the use of the AFIX Tracker system (Automated Fingerprint & Palm Print Identification System). The Decatur Police Department has recently hired a part time certified latent print examiner and purchased the AFIX Tracker system which allows for fingerprint evidence to now be worked in-house rather than being sent to the GBI. The turnaround time has been drastically diminished as it can take months to receive results from the GBI due to the volume of cases they work for the entire state.

Israel was spotted in the East Ponce de Leon/Glendale area by two Decatur officers on their way into work on 06-04-11 and taken into custody without incident. Israel has admitted to entering an unknown amount of vehicles in recent weeks. Investigators are still working to recover and return stolen property.

Nice work DPD!

A reader sends in a picture of a map hanging in the new Burnt Fork BBQ on Church Street.  They report that all the roads on the map retain their current Great Lake names, even though the original name of the development was “Clairemont Park”.

What does “5 Minute Schedule” refer to?  Is that a reference to the trolley?

Just forwarded from the city’s Linda Harris.  Note that the animal was found nearly 2 weeks ago.

Rabies Alert

From the DeKalb County Board of Health

Residents in the Michigan Avenue area should be aware that a raccoon was captured on October 2, 2009, and tested positive for rabies.

· Anyone who has been bitten or scratched by a wild animal should seek medical attention immediately.

· Watch your pets. If they are acting unusually nervous or aggressive or if they have excessive drooling or foaming at the mouth, contact DeKalb County Animal Control at 404-294-2996, Monday-Friday from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. or 404-294-2519 (other times).

· Pet owners should make sure their animals are vaccinated against rabies.

For more information about what you can do to protect yourself and your family, call the DeKalb County Board of Health, Monday-Friday, 8:15 a.m. – 5 p.m. at 404-294-3700.

Linda adds “Flyers are being posted in the neighborhood. We have also posted the information on the Decatur website under Late-Breaking News.”