VaHi Safety Team Report for July 2017

News and Notes

This information is not shared to scare anyone, but to let you know what happens around us every day so you can be alert and aware.

Pedestrian Robbery

On July 18^th at approximately 7:30 am officers responded to a pedestrian robbery call in the 800 block of Adair Avenue. Two victims (a male and a female) were walking north on Barnett Street at the corner of Adair when and older model silver or grey 4-door vehicle pulled alongside them. Two suspects, armed with handguns exited the passenger side of the vehicle while the driver remained in the car. The two suspects, pointed their guns at the victims. The male victim pulled out his billfold and removed his cash and gave the cash to one of the suspects. The suspect then removed the victim’s backpack, containing a Dell laptop with charger and an iPhone 6 with charger. The suspect then reached into the victim’s pocket and removed his keys (residence and vehicle).

The female victim threw herself to the ground, where upon one of the suspects stood over her pointing his handgun at her and said, “give us all your stuff”. The second suspect took the female victim’s black and red leather tote bag containing her Apple MacBook with charger, iPhone 6 with charger, white Hollister sweater, water bottle, eyeglasses, and day planner as well as a lady’s wrist style wallet containing the victim’s ID and credit cards.

The victims were not injured during the incident.

The first suspect was described as a black male, 16 to 18 years of age who was less than six-foot-tall, thin to average build, with a short haircut wearing a black and white shirt with the number 8 and armed with a black handgun.

The second suspect was described as a black male, 16 to 18 years of age, who was less than six-foot-tall with a scarf and short twist in hair, black and red sweat shirt, dark jeans and armed with a silver semi-automatic handgun.

No description of the driver was given other than black male 16 to 18 years of age.

After the robbery, the vehicle proceeded north on Barnett and then turned east onto Virginia Avenue. No tag information was obtained and no cameras are in that area.

Car-Jacking in LaVista Park

Our counterparts from the LaVista Park Civic Association report that on Saturday July 29^th a car was rear-ended on Sheridan Road. Both parties exited their cars to look at the damage. At this point the suspects who caused the accident took the victim’s car and belongings at gunpoint. The passenger, who had remained in the car, also had a weapon pointed at her and belongings taken.

The LaVista Park Patrol believes this is an isolated incident and reports that this sort of crime is extremely rare in the area. However, they caution that if you are involved in and accident and suspect something like this, dial 911 and drive to a well-lit area before exiting your vehicle.

Upcoming Meetings and Events

8/12/17- 10:00 - 3:00 pm - Keep Atlanta Beautiful Recycling Event
8/14/17 - 7:00 pm VHCA Monthly Meeting
8/19/17 - 10:00 am - 5:00 pm & 8/20/17 11:00 am - 5:00 pm Piedmont Park Arts Festival
8/21/17 - 7:00 pm - NPU F Meeting
8/27/17 - 7:00 am - 8:00 pm - Festival Peachtree Latino

Crime Statistics

These statistics are pulled from the APD Open Data Portal http://opendata.atlantapd.org/Default.aspx. It includes reports from Beat 601 and Zone 6 as a whole. 

Because this data was pulled from an online data file and not from a prepared report with narrative which has been provided by APD in the past, I have no additional information or context that I can provide for any of these incidents.

Homicide None reported in Beat 601 or Zone 6

Rape None reported in Beat 601 and three in Zone 6

Pedestrian/Carjacking Robbery One reported in Beat 601 and twelve in Zone 6

See narrative report above obtained from FBAC officers.

Residential Robbery None reported in Beat 601 and one in Zone 6

Commercial Robbery None reported in Beat 601 and one in Zone 6

Aggravated Assault None reported in Beat 601 and twenty in Zone 6

Residential Burglary None reported in Beat 601 and twenty-six reported in Zone 6

Commercial Burglary None reported in Beat 601 and one in Zone 6

Larceny From Vehicle Thirteen reported in Beat 601 and one hundred and twenty-two in Zone 6

Vehicles were entered on Adair Avenue, Briarcliff Road, Hudson, Lanier, Los Angeles, N. Highland, Ponce de Leon Avenue, and Virginia Avenue.

Other Larcenies Five reported in Beat 601 and one hundred and twenty-three in Zone 6

Auto Theft One reported in Beat 601 and forty-two reported in Zone 6

A vehicle was stolen from Virginia Avenue on July 25^th.

If this report was forwarded to you and you would like to be added to the distribution, please send a message to me at VaHiSafety@gmail.com with your name, email address, and affiliation. Thanks.

Stay Safe!

Kay Stephenson

Report for July 2017 - Virginia-Highland Security Patrol (FBAC)

The Activity Report is a summary of what our FBAC Patrol officers do on their shifts.

Directed Patrols:  21	Drop ins/Park and Walks:  22	Suspicious person:  5
Alarm Response:  6	Suspicious Vehicle:  2	Parking Complaints:  2
Noise Complaints:  2	Out of town Checks:  14	Abandoned Auto:  0
FBAC member Contact:  4	Lost Person:  0	Street Obstruction:  0
Wanted Persons:  0	Intoxicated Persons:  0	Found Property:  0
Criminal Trespass:  0	Info for Officers:  1	Shots Fired:  0
Calls for service (cell Phone):  4

News and Notes

SIGNIFICANT INCIDENTS

PEDESTRIAN ROBBERY – 800 Block of Adair Ave

On July 18, 2017 at approximately 7:29 AM, officers responded to a pedestrian robbery call. 

At approximately 7:15 AM the two victims – one male and one female – were walking north on Barnett St NE at the corner of Adair Ave NE, when an older model silver or grey 4 door vehicle pulled alongside them on Barnett St NE.  Two suspects, armed with hand guns, exited the passenger side of the vehicle, while the driver remained in the car.  The two suspects pointed their guns at the victims.  The male victim pulled out his billfold and removed his cash and gave the cash to one of the suspects.  The suspect then removed the victim’s backpack, containing a Dell Laptop with charger and an iPhone 6 with charger.  The suspect then reached into the victim’s pocket and removed his keys (residential/vehicle).  The female victim stated that upon seeing the suspects point their guns at the victims, she threw herself to the ground.  She further stated that one of the suspects stood over her pointing his handgun at her and said “give us all your stuff.”  The second suspect took the female victim’s black and red leather tote bag containing her Apple MacBook with charger, iPhone 6 with charger, white Hollister sweater, water bottle, eyeglasses, and day planner, as well as a lady’s “wrist style” wallet containing the victim’s IDs and credit cards.    

Both victims indicated that they were not injured during the incident.

The first suspect was described as a BM, 16-18 YRS, LESS THAN 6', THIN - AVERAGE BUILD, SHORT HAIRCUT WITH A BLACK AND WHITE SHIRT WITH THE NUMBER 8, ARMED WITH BLACK HANDGUN.

The second suspect was described as a BM, 16-18 YRS, LESS THAN 6 FEET, SCARF WITH SHORT TWIST IN HAIR, BLACK AND RED SWEAT SHIRT DARK JEANS, and ARMED WITH SILVER SEMI AUTO HANDGUN.  No description of the driver was given other than a black male 16-18 years old.  One victim stated that there was possibly a fourth male in the vehicle, but was not certain.

The victims stated that after robbing them of their belongings, the vehicle proceeded north on Barnett St NE and then turned east onto Virginia Ave NE. No tag information was obtained.  The responding officer did not locate any cameras in the area where the incident occurred.

Attention:   Please call 911 first for every issue you have.  This includes suspicious persons or activity that you witness.  By calling 911 it ensures that if FBAC officers are not on patrol that a police officer is responding to the reported activity.   Call the FBAC phone/officers after you call 911.  The 911 system is set up to handle all calls though the system both emergency and non-emergency. The phone number is in the email sent to all members monthly. 

If you see someone or something suspicious please report it to the police.  When driving or out walking keep an eye out in the neighborhood, what you see and report just might prevent a crime.

VaHi Safety Team Report Weeks 20 - 26 (May 14 – June 29, 2017)

News and Notes

CourtWatch Training Scheduled for August

The Fulton County District Attorney’s Office Citizen’s CourtWatch Annual Training is back on! The event (originally planned for April) is now scheduled for Saturday August 19th, 2017 from 10:00 – 2:00 pm. Check-in for pre-registered attendees will take place from 9:00 – 10:00 am. Refreshments will be served.

Training will take place at the Fulton County Superior Courthouse, 185 Central Avenue, SW, 30303 Courtroom 1C. Pre-registration is required. Please sign up at http://CourtWatchAnnualTrainingAugust.eventbrite.com

The Citizen’s CourtWatch program provides citizens with an understanding of the Fulton County Criminal Justice System. CourtWatch encourages the community to actively participate in the judicial process by attending and optionally providing a community impact statement during criminal court proceedings.

If you have any questions please contact Danielle Simpson, CourtWatch Director, 404-613-8406.

Home inventory

Have you completed a home inventory? This can be extremely helpful if you ever need to complete a police report or file an insurance claim. Follow the link to find a brief article from the auto club with tips for how to complete a video inventory of your property in six easy steps. 

'Sliders' Targeting Vehicles at Gas Stations

Have you heard about sliders? No, I don’t mean the small sandwiches invented by White Castle. These are thieves who take advantage of an unlocked passenger door to slide into your vehicle while you pump gas and steal handbags and other valuables. Check out this story from WSB-TV, and please lock your car doors and remain alert while you pump.

Upcoming Events

7/8/17- 10:00 - 3:00 pm          Keep Atlanta Beautiful Recycling Event
7/10/17 - 7:00 pm                   VHCA General Meeting
7/13/17 - 6:30 pm                   BeltLine Northside + Northeast Study Group Meeting
7/17/17 - 7:00 pm                   NPU F Meeting
7/20/17 - 7:00 pm                   VHCA Social at gusto!

Crime Statistics

These statistics are pulled from the APD Open Data Portal http://opendata.atlantapd.org/Default.aspx. It includes reports from Beat 601 and Zone 6 as a whole. Because this data was pulled from an online data file and not from a prepared report with narrative which has been provided by APD in the past, I have no additional information or context that I can provide for any of these incidents.

	May 14 – June 29
	Beat 601	Zone 6
Homicide	0	1
Rape	0	4
Pedestrian/Carjacking Robbery	0	17
Residential Robbery	0	2
Commercial Robbery	0	2
Aggravated Assault	0	16
Residential Burglary	0	32
Commercial Burglary	1	13
Larceny From Vehicle	14	150
Other Larcenies	3	93
Auto Theft	3	29

Vehicles were entered on Cleburne Terrace, Elmwood Drive, Greenwood Avenue, N. Highland Avenue, Ponce de Leon Avenue, and Ponce de Leon Place.

If this report was forwarded to you and you would like to be added to the distribution, please send a message to me at VaHiSafety@gmail.com with your name, email address, and affiliation. Virginia-Highland residents will receive the report from their street captain. Please send an email to safety@vahi.com to be connected. Thanks.

Stay Safe!

Kay Stephenson