MPSA Mailbag 12/28/2010
What the neighbors are telling us – as always, these do not necessarily represent MPSA position except where noted.
Dangerously overzealous parking enforcement by ParkAtlanta – My husband is a kidney patient and depends on home dialysis for life support until he can have a kidney transplant. Home dialysis requires us to receive deliveries of dialysis supplies from a division of Baxter pharmaceuticals. Today his delivery of dialysis supplies, which are bulky, had to be delayed because ParkAtlanta told the Baxter driver that he would not be allowed to park in our area in the yellow Penske truck he was driving. The Baxter dispatcher will be resending the materials in a different truck tomorrow, one with a Baxter logo.
My husband could see an available place for the truck to park across Myrtle Street from us while the Baxter driver was on the telephone with us in real time, telling us of his problem. The Mary Mac’s security guard on duty says that he witnessed the Park Atlanta officer telling the driver to move on, and he believes the officer was wearing an APD uniform. Park Atlanta should not be authorized to interfere in our lives at this level. I suspect that this situation could represent another Park Atlanta training opportunity.
Vagrant activity - There is a black male with a buggy that has taken up residence in the parking lot behind the Subway sandwich shop. My property is right behind this business on Ponce de Leon court. During the same time I’ve had someone come behind my house. The most notable time I noticed this morning that someone had gone through my truck. We have also had someone go through the trash on the whole street. I have no proof, but I would rather this individual be somewhere else. Can we ask this person to move on? MPSA NOTE: we know him as Car Wash Mike, and he has been a community nuisance for a long time. Sgt. Cooper spoke to the Manager of the Texaco oil change, next door to the Subway and where the vagrant is allowed to hang out, but they were not interested in getting him to leave. Photos below.
Stolen car - My car was stolen last night in front of Animal House Pet Hotel & Spa (516 Ponce de Leon Ave). It was approximately between 8:30~9pm and the car is a Nissan Altima 2007. It is a white car and the license plate is DC6M03. Please be on the lookout for my car and if you find any information regarding this, [please contact me]. MPSA NOTE: The victim did file a police report.
How the Grinch stole Christmas, Midtown style - Not even the holiday lights are safe. Last night someone unwound the lights decorating our bushes next to the sidewalk and took them away. Imagine our surprise when I walked the kids out to catch the school bus this morning, only to find our decorations missing! So, in addition to locking your cars, taking all the valuables out, etc. – lock down your holiday decorations too. Bah humbug. MPSA NOTE: Decorations were reported stolen from several residents, but as far as we know, the Grinch never came back from his reclusion to return them…
Field Photos of “Car Wash Mike” referenced above.
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- “Car Wash Mike” – MPSA field photo
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- “Car Wash Mike” – MPSA field photo
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- “Car Wash Mike” – MPSA field photo
Street Criminal Watch 12/28/10
Andrew Arnett, at the tip-top of our list right now, remains at large. Arnett bolted from the court room when he learned that he was about to be served with three new probation violation charges. Since then, he has been seen in the Ansley Mall area. We have advised businesses in that area to call the police should he be seen. Also, Arnett continues to defy his banishment from Ponce and appears anyhow. Once he is captured we will announce new court watch dates.
Jackie Sue Hunter, a street criminal on Ponce since the 1970′s, was banished from Fulton County and other areas as part of her recent sentence (we are unclear which of her many charges). She continues to appear at Ponce & Boulevard recently.
Spencer Stordahl, who was arrested last October for burglary, was sentenced recently to ten years probation. He will also be required to undergo drug rehab. We requested the inclusion of Ponce & Boulevard in his georgraphic banishment, but never heard back from the prosecutor handling the case. He’s a one of a kind street criminal – he actually has a college degree! We want to know if he appears in the area…
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- Spencer Stordahl – member-contributed image
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- Fulton County mugshot for chronic felon Andrew Arnett
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- Life-long street criminal Jackie Sue Hunter – MPSA field photo
Memo from Major Williams
Major Khirus Williams - photo: City of Atlanta
Good afternoon, to provide greater enforcement, and police presence, to the City of Atlanta, Chief Turner provided a seven day city-wide detail. I assigned our detail to the Old Fourth Ward community (and the Underground and Castleberry areas). The detail was very successful and provided the following results, for the O4W community – several community leaders are blind-copied:
- 43 suspects arrested.
- 13 wanted persons located and taken into custody.
- 4 drug arrests.
- 3 Entering an Auto suspects arrested.
- 1 Traffic ticket issued.
- 2 cars impounded.
Presently, the City of Atlanta has a nine percent decrease in Part I crimes and Zone 5 has a seventeen percent decrease in Part I crimes. We will continue to address issues that breed crime and we ask that you please dial 911 for any suspicious activity! This is the suggestion, as oppose to sending e-mails, which should be a secondary initiative and not the sole effort!
Major Khirus Williams commands the Zone 5 Precinct of the Atlanta Police Department and can be reached directly at kwilliams@atlantaga.gov.
Stolen Scooters recovered
Fulton County jail mugshot for Walt W.
Earlier this month, Sgt Cooper accompanied officials from the Atlanta Police and the Department of Corrections to a house in the 5th & Charles Allen area in search of fugitive Andrew Arnett. They did not find Arnett but they noticed some stolen scooters on the property. The next day police returned with a warrant and arrested Walt W. on several counts of Theft by Receiving. W. was booked into the Fulton County jail and remained there several days before being released. Since then, residents have told us of suspicious activity surrounding the proliferation of scooters at that address. The house remains under observation for further criminal activity.
We will advise of court watch dates.
Update 2011: We were advised by our community prosecutor that Walt W. underwent a pre-trial intervention program for first offenders.
ALERT: Tire Slashing
In the last 48 hours there have been two known episodes of tire slashing. On Sunday night into Monday several cars on Penn Avenue had their tires slashed. Several had to be towed away, as the culprits slashed multiple tires on each vehicle. This afternoon (12/27) several more cars had their tires slashed in the Charles Allen & 4th area. According to reports, the tires were slashed on the street side rather than the curb side of the vehicles. So far nothing is known about who is doing this, so residents should remain alert and watch for suspicious individuals in the neighborhood and call 911 if you witness suspicious persons or behaviors.
Sponsors
Many thanks for our community sponsors! While the majority of our funding comes from residents and small businesses, a significant portion of our neighborhood patrol funds comes from the following sponsors:
