Decatur Police Issue Burglary Alert

From Sgt. Jennifer S. Ross, Decatur Police Department:

On 08/25/13 between 12:15 pm and 3:15 pm, there was a burglary in the 100 block of Superior Avenue. Entry was made by breaking a Plexiglas pane in the front door and utilizing a key left in the lock.

A laptop, iPod, cell phone, purses, backpacks, jewelry boxes/chest and cash were stolen. Some of the items were recovered near the intersection of Scott Boulevard and Superior Avenue.

A witness reported hearing a noise in the intersection around 2:00 pm and seeing a jewelry chest had fallen from an unknown vehicle.” In addition to this burglary, there was a report of damage to the front door knob/latch of a neighboring house that occurred during the same time frame.  No entrance was gained into that residence.

While following up on potential leads regarding the burglary case, investigators have crossed paths with a juvenile from DeKalb County suspected to have been involved with the series of related burglaries in the Winnona Park/South Candler/Oakhurst areas of Decatur and south DeKalb County back in June-early July. 

In addition, there was a similar burglary reported on 08/26/13 in the 1100 block of Oldfield Road that occurred between 8:15 am-6:15 pm.  The front door was forced open and a large flat screen television and laptop computer were taken.

DeKalb County Police are also investigating similar burglaries that occurred in the adjacent Midway Woods neighborhood over the weekend.

The series of related burglaries in the Winnona Park/South Candler Street/Oakhurst neighborhoods throughout June-early July came to a halt the first week of July due to operations conducted by Decatur Police, DeKalb County Police and most importantly, the increase in awareness and reporting on behalf of the community as we watched out for our neighbors and called police for suspicious persons and vehicles.  When members of the community and police are diligent, that makes our community less attractive to would-be thieves. 

Please watch out for your neighbors and call police immediately if you see unknown vehicles or persons in and around your neighbor’s property.  In prior cases, the suspects were using stolen vehicles (most often mini-vans, pick-up trucks and SUVs that would hold large flat panel televisions) and suspect vehicles were seen backed into the victim’s driveways.  Another common ploy is for a suspect to knock on the front door to make sure nobody is home before making entry.  Please do not open the door for anyone you do not know, but verbally answering “Who is it?” will make it known that your home is occupied. 

*Remember when calling from a cell phone near the city limits, you may reach a cell tower that is located in DeKalb County or City of Atlanta and then have to wait for a transfer.  The non-emergency number for the Decatur Police Department is 404/373-6551.