Archive for February, 2010

Among reports filed recently were these cases of theft:

A woman reported her personal trainer took off with a computer, jewelry, a number of other electronics, checks and a lot of cash. She said he owes her addition monies totaling just under $10,000.

She thinks he left for California.

700 block of Spalding Drive: A 1993 Chrysler New Yorker was stolen. The victim said he was trying to sell the car and a potential buyer may have taken the keys that were in the car and returned later to steal it.

6200 block of Barfield Road: A business representative reported that an ex-employee apparently made a number of unauthorized withdrawals using company credit and debit cards. The total of money taken exceeds $14,000.

4900 block of Roswell Road: A salon owner said a regular but problematic customer came in and had a “lace wig application treatment” done. The cost was $175. When she was done, the woman said the money was in her car and she would meet the employee there. When the …

Continue reading When your personal trainer turns bad (and other tales of theft) »

I guess one of the most difficult things to get used to when writing this blog is knowing that a lot of people read it. That’s a good thing. I’m happy with the fact that the number of hits on the site far exceeds the comments and I like the fact that people read it. It’s fun.

I get a lot of e-mail and I sometimes get a lot of comments on the blog. The hardest thing getting used to are the comments that are, to say the least, sharp, abrasive and sometimes no more than a cheap shot.

A while back, the person’s e-mail address would appear on the comments section so you could e-mail them back. I made the mistake of getting mad at someone who took exception to a blog I wrote about Sgt. Friday of “Dragnet” fame. Big deal, right? He was incensed that I paraphrased a long line of rhetorical crap that I had envisioned Sgt. Friday saying. My point had been that Sgt. Friday could put all the right words in the right place when he dressed down the crooks, but —  in real life — …

Continue reading Slain officer’s family shouldn’t have to endure cheap shots »

Among the reports filed recently with Sandy Springs police:

Two people at an apartment on Brentwood Way had a house guest over. The next morning he and two computers were gone.

6900 Roswell Road: Around 4:30 p.m., two women in a car saw a man carrying two bags of groceries. (It was snowing.) They felt sorry for him. They gave him a ride to the back of the apartment complex. He got out and told them to call him sometime. They left and later found that a wallet belonging to one of the women was gone. Later, a credit card had been used. So much for Good Samaritan.

Target Store employees said they noticed a man on video removing a 26” TV and move it to a back storage room area. When they went to that area, the man had already left. They got word that the man had done the same thing in Roswell. He was nice enough to leave his cell phone behind and a good photo of him on it. The photo matched the video. You know this guy is hating life when he realized he left the phone.

8000 …

Continue reading Police blotter: Thefts, arrests and a cop’s funeral »

Officers met with Costco employees and a woman who was suspected of shoplifting. The woman apparently went to the video game section of the Peachtree-Dunwoody Road store and took an X-Box game, valued at over $50. Using a pair of scissors, she cut the plastic container and then placed the game in the front of her pants.

The woman  admitted putting the game in her pants. A female officer checked the suspect for weapons, which is standard procedure before transporting a prisoner. To the surprise of the employees, the officer found the following, also in the suspect’s pants:

• A package of socks.
• Two blouses
• A small Toro lawnmower.
• Two boxes of Frontline flea control, which the officer sincerely hoped was for a dog and not the suspect.

I’m kidding about the Toro lawnmower.

The suspect said she had driven her boss’s car to the store and that her dog was still in the car. She was arrested, the car impounded and the dog was taken by animal control to be released to the …

Continue reading That’s a lot to stuff in your pants, ma’am »

I entitled this blog “Don’t screw up Valentine’s Day” because a great many of us men will.

Yep, it’s a safe bet that even with cell phone and computer calendar reminders ringing bells and tweets in our ears, we’ll screw it up.

As a gender, we’re not all that good at this particular holiday. Perhaps with a historical perspective, some of it gleaned from the Internet, we can appreciate it more and, thus, not end up celibate all spring long — which would be a very long spring.

Who was Saint Valentine and how did he become associated with all this?  The Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine, Valentinus and the less popular name, Vinnie.

One legend contends that Valentine was a priest in Rome. When the emperor decided that unmarried men made better soldiers, he outlawed marriages for young men.  Valentine, realizing the injustice of the emperor’s order, defied him and continued to perform marriages for young couples in love. When …

Continue reading Off-duty: Don’t screw up Valentine’s Day »

Here’s a not-so-unusual burglary report, this one from the 100 block of Spalding Trail:

A man reported someone forced entry into his apartment and took a laptop, PS3, cell phone and jewelry.

TIP: If you rent, look into renter’s insurance. Also, take your digital camera or video and make a document of your valuables, remembering to list the serial numbers and any other important information so that you can list them on your insurance papers or even better, claim them if recovered.

We have tons of unclaimed property that is auctioned off periodically.

Thefts

7400 block of Roswell Road: A man reported he left his car running outside a convenient store while he grabbed a bite to eat inside. Someone got into the car and drove off.

Don’t even need to say anything here do I?

A woman reported someone used her ID to open an account at a bank in Nashville, TN. The suspect placed $175 in the account. They returned a short time later and deposited a check, later found fraudulent, …

Continue reading If you rent, look into renter’s insurance »

About every home in Sandy Springs has an alarm. We answer from 600 to 1,200 alarms each month with an accuracy rate of about 3%. The other 97% or so can be chalked up to “subscriber error,” meaning you forgot the alarm was on, or other household goof ups. Each alarm probably takes 30 to 40 minutes of patrol time away.

Add it all up and it comes out to about — not good.

I have an alarm at my house and I can’t tell you how the dang thing works. I’ve never had one before, and it’s only been six years in this house, so I still have time to figure that and how to program the new multi-functional remote that costs almost as much as the television. The new remote can turn on the TV, CD, DVD, PS3, stereo, surround sound, the lights, the fireplace and, when the conditions are just right, my neighbor’s TV, too.

Nothing says fun like an adult beverage, sitting on the deck with Detective Sandy and watching my neighbor try to figure out why the TV automatically reverts to the …

Continue reading Is your home alarm always crying wolf? »

A woman reported she posted an ad to sell $25 in children’s clothing. A caller made the deal with her, but sent a money order from a “David Wilkerson” and made out for $850.

He told her his secretary made a mistake and told her to send $735 and she could keep the rest. She withdrew the funds from an account and sent it via Western Union to a Raymond Smith in London. Several days later, her bank notified her that the money order was fraudulent.

Those of you who read this report from time to time probably recognize the scam. The sender of the money order is different than the person to whom you’re sending the funds. They are counting on you sending the funds ASAP before the fake money order is found out.

A man reported he’s been “hanging out” with a guy named “Pete.” Pete asked to use the victim’s account to deposit $500. The victim gave him the account info and PIN and, long story short, the victim is out $5500.

Seriously? You made it that easy?

A woman …

Continue reading Scams, scams, everywhere scams »