Sandy Springs police blotter: Lawn equipment robbery and stolen safe

The following represents some, but not all, of the reports made to Sandy Springs police from July 10 to July 18.

 The following information was provided by Capt. Steve Rose of the Sandy Springs Police Department from its records and is presumed to be accurate.

Child molestation suspect arrested

Calib Allen Dickson, 32 was arrested after detectives, working an unrelated case, ran a vehicle tag showing that he was wanted for failing to appear on charges of aggravated child molestation in Muscogee County. He was taken into custody and transferred to Muscogee County Sheriff’s Department.

Stolen handgun recovered by Atlanta Police

A handgun, stolen from a car in June of last year, was one of 19 guns, eight of which were stolen, recovered during a search warrant in Atlanta, conducted by Atlanta Police, Department of Homeland Security, and ATF. One ballistic vest was also recovered. APD arrested one person in the case.

Robbery

100 block of PDR – On July 10, a landscape crew member, doing work at a location, observed a white SUV pull up and a male exit and begin stealing lawn equipment. The complainant approached the man who pulled a gun and told him “Don’t look at me.” The man fled in a white Tahoe or Expedition. A female accompanied the suspect.

Burglary

5500 block of Roswell Road – On July 11, a resident returned home to her apartment and discovered someone had entered her home and took a laptop and $700 from a dresser drawer. She was told earlier in the afternoon that a male in a black pickup truck was at her residence.

6500 Vernon Woods Dr. – On July 11, someone at the Benson Center said someone stole $600 from a safe—along with the safe.

5600 block of Roswell Road – On July 11, an apartment resident said he was gone overnight between July 10-11, and upon return, discovered his door was unsecured and his television was gone.

5000 block of Roswell Road – On July 11, a resident said that about 1 p.m. she and her children were eating in the apartment, then walked out to the parking lot to get something from the car. Upon returning to the apartment, they confronted a man who was in the bedroom. The man was described as about 6-feet, short hair, black shirt, blue pants, and was either holding a gun or one was on his belt. The man fled to the rear, then changed directions and fled through the front door.

1900 block of Cimarron Pkwy – On July 11, a 29-year-old man said he was gone from his apartment overnight and on return found what appeared to be forced entry to his front door. Nothing was taken.

Thefts

A 26-year old woman reported that she had $1,050 in cash, in her wallet, which she placed in her purse—specifically the bottom of the purse. She left the purse in a hospital room and upon return, the wallet had been taken from the purse. She said she left the room every three hours for an hour at a time.

200 block of Skyridge Drive – On July 11, a resident reported that a small change purse containing her driver’s license was taken from her purse inside her home. She said several contractors had been in the home recently.

8900 block of Roswell Road – On July 13, a landscaping employee said he and another employee were working in this area but were not near their truck. Someone stole a Husqvarna backpack blower from the ground next to the truck. The employee said that when he discovered the theft, he saw a pickup truck nearby. He walked to the truck to ask if they saw anything and the driver turned and drove the truck in the other direction. There was no evidence to show the truck was involved but the employee thought it was suspicious that he suddenly departed.

 Landscape equipment thefts are BIG in the summertime. Thieves cruise the ‘burbs looking for the landscape trucks and as you know, nobody in Sandy Springs actually cuts their own yard, so there are tons of landscaping trucks all over during the day. Easy pickin’s if you leave that stuff lying around.

Thefts from Vehicles

There were 14 thefts from vehicles reported between July 8 and July 13.

 Assault

7200 block of Roswell Road – On July 8, a 66-year-old man said a former employee came into his restaurant and wanted money he said was owed him. The man went to the register to get his money at which time the victim got into a shoving match with him. The suspect hit the victim, knocking him to the ground. He then left with the victim’s car keys. The victim was taken to St. Joes for treatment. He is planning to prosecute.

Fraud

A 60-year-old man said someone called his bank and ordered new debit cards and then used them at two separate Target locations in Suwanee and Alpharetta, racking up $2,400 in purchases.

Other

A 19-year old woman was closing up shop at the Inserection store around midnight when she noticed a man who was staring at her and casually following her. At one point she told the man that the store was closing and he needed to leave. She then saw that he had exposed himself to her. She yelled at him and grabbed a box cutter. The man fled, got into a tan SUV and left.

6500 block Roswell Road – On July 12, a restaurant employee said a woman called her wanting a refund for a salad she bought several weeks earlier—yes, several WEEKS earlier. She was told that the salad in question would need to be returned in order to get the refund. The woman was angry and cursed at the employee. Later, the woman called back, this time speaking to another employee, telling her to tell the employee in question, to “watch her back when she walks to her car.”

6600 block of Roswell Road – On July 8, a woman was arrested after three teens found her on the floor at the Subway, throwing up. They offered to help. The woman, intoxicated, accused the men of stealing her phone and slapped the nearest one, then tried to punch him. The man, actually a 17-year old kid, said he was in “fear of his life” and took a defensive stance. In response, the woman slapped one of the other guys (kids.) The teens attempted to leave by getting into their car. The woman followed and jumped into the car. She then exited the vehicle. The woman was walking back to her car when the officers arrived. (Her phone was found in the back seat of her car, by the way.) She told the officers that she had no idea how she got to that location from the “tavern” where she had been drinking. The officer arrested the woman.

 The kids, teens, were actually trying to do good with the drunken woman and should be commended. Lesson learned is this: Be careful, especially at 2 a.m. because all the weirdos are out among us. Also, if you’re 17 years old, you should be home. I believe that was conveyed by the officer as well.

5600 block of Roswell Road – On July 11, a resident reported that a woman who lives in the complex and who does babysitting for her, abruptly entered her apartment just after noon, and informed the resident that the devil was in the apartment. The woman pushed herself in and proceeded towards the daughter’s bedroom where she again discovered the presence of the devil—specifically in the child’s iPad. The woman proclaimed, “The devil is in this thing!” and began smashing it. She then left. Officers went to her apartment and she told them the “devil was chasing the kids into the iPad and needed to destroy it.” After breaking the iPad, she threw it into the Dumpster. She said the Holy Spirit told her to do it. At the time of the report, the victim did not want to prosecute. She hopes the woman will pay her for the damages.

5500 block of Roswell Road – On July 9, a woman was detained and later arrested for stealing Biore skin masks and pore strips, valued at just over $12.

5900 block of Roswell Road – On July 9, a woman was arrested for beating her fiancé with her fists and the stiletto heels of her shoes. She was angry that he was cheating on her by way of internet porn. The couple was in a car parked outside a bar. She said she lost control due to her anger but stopped hitting him when the cops arrived. The report said the man’s dress shirt was ripped up pretty bad and he had visible red marks on his neck and arms. Alcohol was involved.

On July 10, a security guard at the Waffle House on Northridge called police after observing what he interpreted as people smoking marijuana in a car parked in the lot. The man later told officers that he found it on the ground and as a joke, he would roll it into a blunt wrapper to see how well he could do it. He was given a ticket to appear in court on disorderly conduct charges.

4000 block of Jolyn Place – On July 11, just after noon, an alert neighbor observed a car, Chrysler 300, cruising slowly by a home, then stopped and backed up. A man got out of the car, walked to the carport of the home, and took a Callaway golf clubs, then walked back to the car and drove towards Meadowbrook. The witness, while this was going on, called 911 and the call was dispatched. A patrol officer was close by when he got the call and located the car on Meadowbrook. He stopped the car and secured the driver while he looked in the car. He found the clubs and a mower, plus yard equipment and a tool that may have been used as a pry tool. The suspect was arrested on burglary charges.

3000 block of River Exchange Drive – On July 13, a patrol officer spotted a car and did a random tag check on the car. The return information showed that the owner of the car was wanted in Atlanta for failure to appear on traffic charges and wanted in DeKalb County for burglary. The officer stopped the car and confirmed the driver was the owner. He was arrested.

Well, by the way, we wanted to send out a heart-felt thank you to all the folks for all the good things they e-mailed us in light of the current events around the country. We’ve received a ton of goodies such as cookies, cakes, brownies, from several groups and individuals. We literally had 100,000 calories sitting on the break-room table at one time. Many folks have waved from their cars, most with all fingers (yes, a few with one), and it’s a good feeling to be in this community of supporters so again, thank you very much!