The following information was provided by Capt. Steve Rose of the Sandy Springs Police Department from its reports dated March 26 through March 30 and is presumed to be accurate.
Robbery
On March 26 at 3:30 p.m., officers met a 56 year-old cab driver who said he was assaulted by a short man while dropping off people at Carriage Gate Townhomes near the Glenridge Connector. The cabbie had some facial swelling under his eye and mouth.
The cabbie said he picked up a man and a woman at a pub in Buckhead and that the fare was $25. The man went to his apartment to get a credit card and it was denied. He paid $40 cash but got mad when he thought the cabbie gave him the wrong change.
While these two were arguing another man, who came out of nowhere, punched the cabbie through his driver’s window, removed his keys and attempted to steal the money. The passenger yelled at the man to give the money back and eventually the cabbie was able to drive away.
An iPhone 6 dropped by the man who attacked the cab driver was found in the cab and turned in as evidence.
Burglary
1000 block of Balmoral Road – On March 28, someone reported appliances were stolen from two new homes. They included a Bertazzoni range hood/insert, wine cooler, refrigerator, microwave and other items. The burglary happened between March 26 and March 28.
Landsdowne Drive – On March 29, a homeowner reported someone entered his home through a forced kitchen window. He told police he received an alert from his home’s motion detector. He went home two hours later and checked his home video that showed a man, who he knows, entering the home through the window. The suspect is a relative who used to live at the home.
700 block Fair Oaks Manor – On March 30, a side carport door and a back door leading to the home were kicked in. Outdoor tools were taken.
Thefts
Chermin De Vie – On March 26, a 2003 black Infiniti FX was taken from the victim’s driveway. Also taken was a 2010 Lexus RX 350. Both cars were unlocked and had their keys inside.
6600 block of Roswell Road – On March 26, a 78 year-old woman reported that while she was shopping in a thrift store, she was approached by a woman who began talking to her and made her feel uncomfortable. The elderly woman later found that her wallet had been stolen from her purse.
Concourse Parkway – On March 28, a 2010 Chevy Silverado Crew Cab truck was stolen from a hotel parking lot.
300 block of Fountain Oaks Lane – On March 28, police found a 2007 blue Toyota Tacoma that had been reported stolen from DeKalb County.
Tara Trail – On March 28, a 51 year-old man reported two watches were stolen during a real estate open house at his residence.
5000 block of Roswell Road – On March 28, a man reported that while working out at a gym, someone stole his backpack and contents, including his iPhone 6 plus and clothes. The GPS showed the phone nearby but officers were not able to pinpoint where it was.
8300 block of Roswell Road – On March 29, a 72 year-old woman reported her wallet stolen from her purse in a shopping cart while she was shopping at a grocery store.
6000 block of Roswell Road – On March 29, an employee of a retail store said another person stole his iPhone 6.
1100 block of Mt. Vernon Highway – On March 29, a man reported that while at a gym, his locker was entered and his gym bag and contents were missing.
5000 block of Cross Gate Drive – On March 30, someone entered the backyard patio area of a home and took a 55-inch TV from the patio area. The TV was broken during the theft and no longer works.
200 block of Belle Isle Road – On March 30, someone forced open a deadbolt with a pry tool on a front door and entered a home. Taken were two laptops and three weapons.
Thefts from vehicles
From March 26 to March 31, there were 15 vehicles reported broken into. Taken from the vehicles included items ranging from cash, softball equipment, a pistol and rims and tires.
Assault
1100 block of Mt. Vernon Highway – On March 28, a woman reported a classmate she just met repeatedly punched in her the face. She told police they were on dinner break and she invited him to go to a fast food restaurant with her. While there, he stumbled and she thought he was sick. She said she offered him some food but he lashed out at her and hit her 5 to 10 times before employees intervened. He then fled the restaurant on foot. When officers found him and detained him, he said she had offered him some marijuana, which they smoked in the car on the way to the fast food restaurant. It made him sick, he said, and he asked her to take him to the hospital, but instead she gave him some peanuts. He admitted punching her and was arrested but not before he asked the officers to follow up on her marijuana use. Police did and found small bag of marijuana in her purse. She told them it was synthetic marijuana. She was charged with possession of less than an ounce of the drug.
Fraud
A 67 year-old man reported on March 27 that he received a Facebook message from his cousin asking if he had heard of the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Grant, or CFDA. The message said he won $150,000 and he needed to send $1,000 for a tax-clearance fee. The winnings would then be delivered by UPS. He was also asked to send his driver license number and phone number. The cousin’s name was, in fact, his cousin’s, but it had been cloned and the person using it was a scammer. The man was told to contact an agent in San Marcos, Texas. The man never sent the money but did send a copy of his DL before becoming suspicious. He asked the “cousin” how another relative was doing, knowing the relative had been dead for two years.
Discount department store employees reported that, on March 28, two men purchased gift cards using fraudulent homemade checks.
5000 block of PDR – On March 28, a doctor received a call from a pharmacist regarding a prescription that did not match the others that the doctor writes. An internal audit was done and it showed that a medical assistant has been stealing and forging prescriptions for Tramadol, Hydrocodone and Oxycodone since February 2015, adding up to more than 1,000 prescriptions.
Arrests
2700 block of Spring Creek Lane – On March 26, at around 2:20 a.m., cops were called about suspicious activity and possibly theft from an auto. Two men were seen around a car in a subdivision and a responding officer told other officers that the suspects’ car was a black Charger. The Charger fled the scene but crashed at Grogan’s Ferry and Adair and the suspects fled on foot. One suspect was located walking on Roswell Road near a convenience store and was stopped and detained.
Officers later discovered that a couple of cars had been broken into at the original site. A K-9 unit was called in to track the second suspect, but he was not located. The first suspect was charged with at least two counts of entering an auto.
8700 block of Roswell Road – On March 26, employees of a grocery store saw a woman pushing a shopping cart filled with about $100 in merchandise out of the store without paying for the items. She said she was going to load them in her car and then return to pay for them. During the shopping spree, the woman drank a couple small bottles of wine and was munching on a sandwich and some chips, also unpaid for. She appeared to have a good buzz going courtesy of the wine. She was arrested.
5500 block of Roswell Road – On March 26, a woman was arrested in the parking lot of a discount department store after taking $363 in items including a comforter, towels, cleaning supplies, an air mattress and other goods. She was arrested.
8700 block of Roswell Road – On March 28, the manager of a fast food chain called regarding a disorderly woman who brought a drink into the restaurant. She was asked to leave it outside. The woman threw the drink on the floor, then picked it up and threw it at the manager and then left the scene. An officer recognized her walking nearby and arrested her.