The Decatur Police said there has been a “drastic decrease” in the number of burglaries happening in the city, according to Sgt. Jennifer Ross. There were 33 burglaries between May and June, but only 14 reported for July and August so far. “The police department wants to thank everyone for their continued vigilance in neighbors watching out for neighbors,” Ross said. She also noted there has been an increase in calls from the community reporting suspicious persons, vehicles and activity. “We know credit for this decrease does not belong to the officers alone,” Ross said. “Thank you and keep looking out and keep calling.”
However, there were other crimes happening in Decatur, including three burglaries on the same day. Details are:
- On Aug. 20, a Decatur officer responded to the Communications Center in reference to a report of a previous robbery. The victim stated on Aug. 15 between the hours of 9:45-10:05 pm, she was walking east in the 400 block of West Ponce de Leon Avenue near Farm Burger, carrying a laptop bag around her shoulder and listening to headphones, when two males suspects approached her from behind. Suspect #1 grabbed her laptop bag from her shoulder and both males ran westbound on West Ponce de Leon Avenue. The laptop bag contained a laptop. The victim could not advise if the suspects spoke to her and she only saw them from behind as they ran away. The victim stated there were numerous patrons outside nearby restaurants that did not seem to notice what happened so she did not report the robbery and continued walking toward the Decatur MARTA station. The victim later decided to report the robbery at the urging of friends so her stolen laptop could possibly be located. The suspects were described as a black male, approximately 6’ tall, wearing a dark t-shirt and Atlanta Braves hat and a Hispanic male, approximately 6’ tall, wearing a white hooded sweat shirt and jeans.
- On Aug. 21, a Decatur officer responded to the Communications Center in reference to a report of a previous armed robbery and kidnapping. The victim stated on Aug. 20 at approximately 2:00 pm, she conducted a banking transaction at the Delta Community Credit Union located at 245 West Ponce de Leon Avenue and upon returning to her vehicle in the parking lot, was approached by a male suspect who stated he had a gun and demanded she give him all of her money. The victim reported she gave the suspect her money and the suspect requested she go back into the bank and get more money. The victim further stated she noticed a second male standing nearby while the suspect was demanding more money. The first suspect told the victim to come with him into the bank and they proceeded into the bank. The victim and suspect approached a teller and were told no funds were available. As the victim and suspect were leaving the bank, the suspect continued to demand money and the victim gave the suspect a financial transaction card and the card’s PIN. The victim stated she then exited the bank, ran to her vehicle and drove to another credit union and attempted to file a police report with another police agency. No weapon was displayed. Investigators are working to verify details of this incident. The suspects were described as follows: Suspect #1 is a black male in his late 30’s, approximately 5’10, medium build, wearing a white t-shirt, blue jeans, black blazer, black skull cap and black dress shoes. Suspect #2 is a black male in his mid-40’s, large build, close haircut, wearing a white t-shirt with a black design on the front and black Dickie pants
On Aug. 21, between 7:20 and 9:30 p.m., Decatur Police responded to three burglary calls:
- Decatur police responded to a residence in the 100 block of Garland Avenue in reference to an attempted burglary. The victim stated he arrived home and noticed a large crack in a kitchen window. It appeared someone had attempted to pry the window open. The victim contacted his alarm company and learned his alarm was triggered at approximately 5:46pm with the point of activation being the kitchen window and the alarm reset after only ten seconds. The alarm company had not contacted the victim or the police. No entry was made into the residence and no items were reported stolen.
- Decatur police responded to a residence in the 200 block of Second Avenue in reference to a burglary. The victim stated she left the residence prior to 7:00 am and had just arrived home and noticed a rear door unlocked and jewelry items and (3) laptops/tablets missing. The officer located an open rear window leading into a bathroom that appeared to be the point of entry.
- Decatur police responded to a residence in the 100 block of Feld Avenue in reference to an attempted burglary. The victim stated she received a call from a neighbor at approximately 8:47 pm advising an audible alarm was coming from her home. The neighbor checked the residence and observed a front window ajar but nothing else appeared disturbed. The victim arrived home and stated the window was closed when she previously left the residence, an item from the window ledge had been moved but it appeared further entry was not made into the home. No items were reported stolen.
