The Blotter: Bad counsel

A young lawyer-to-be likely doomed his career by getting busted for theft at his part-time job at a local mall: The 24-year-old confessed to stealing more than $100,000 worth of jewelry from the department store where he works. He’s weeks from graduating from a prominent Atlanta law school, and set to take the bar exam later this month. “He said the only reason he did these things was because he was in debt with his student loans,” an officer wrote.

“I am presently assigned to the fine jewelry department ... In October 2012, I started having trouble paying school loans and I stole three Figueroa chains valued at approximately $3,000 each and three rope chains valued at approximately $1,400 each,” he said in his confession. “The most recent time was today, when I took nine chains, a men’s ring (worth $2,800), and some pearl earrings (worth $140) for a total of $14,880.”

He also confessed to stealing watches totaling $8,045. “I sold most of the jewelry in New York at various jewelry stores ... and a ‘We Buy Gold’ place ... One necklace I gave to a friend, and I kept the TAG watch for myself.”

The law student finally asked to call his lawyer. Stupidly, he kept talking while waiting for his lawyer to arrive. He asked if police were planning to search his apartment in Sandy Springs — because his friend once had a search warrant and his place was trashed by the time cops were done with it. The cop noted, “I informed [him] when and if we do a search warrant, we don’t trash people’s homes.” The suspect said if police did search his apartment, cops would find three watches in plain sight. He went to jail on major theft charges.

Bling buster

Diamond thieves sorta bungled their hit on a fancy Buckhead jewelry store. Two guys with handguns drawn reportedly rushed into the jewelry store in broad daylight around noon. (They had bandannas covering their noses and mouths and wore latex gloves.) They demanded money from the cash register and that the diamond showcase be opened. Employees gave them $2,800 cash, then opened the safe and handed over a box of jewelry.

Employees saw both suspects jump over the fence in the rear parking lot and sprint away. Police examined the fence area and found “two large mesh bags filled with jewelry” near the fence. Also found: two latex gloves and a single $5 bill near the jewelry bags.

Other witnesses saw a burgundy Mercury Mountaineer with no tag peeling out of the parking lot after the theft. Police found the abandoned Mountaineer behind the Buckhead Intercontinental Hotel on Peachtree Street with fingerprints all over it. Also, police found two handguns in the car, plus “a hand-drawn map” of the jewelry store. A gold star-shaped necklace was also found behind the car. Nearby, police found a torn white T-shirt, another blue latex glove, and another black mesh bag filled with diamond jewelry. The diamond thieves did get away with a few nice pieces, including a rare antique Lamborghini watch.

The jewelry store estimates that 70 percent of the stolen jewelry was recovered in the black mesh bags thieves dropped near the fence and car.

Gun uncontrolled

A 70-year-old man set up his booth at a gun show on Jonesboro Road with cases of rifles and guns. At some point, someone managed to steal a CZ rifle worth $750 — even though the entire gun show is on surveillance. The gun vendor has no idea who stole his fancy gun.

Taking a bullet

A 22-year-old woman said her baby’s daddy came to visit their son at her apartment on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. During his visit, the woman said, her child’s father stole her 9mm semi-automatic handgun from the top shelf of her closet. She believes he sold or pawned the gun.

Police tracked down the child’s father and talked with him. He says he took the gun and threw it in a blue Dumpster outside the apartment because he did not feel comfortable having a gun in the home where his son lives. Police asked him to show them exactly where he tossed the gun. They searched the blue Dumpster. No gun. The child’s father was arrested for theft and taken to jail.

Smart crook, stupid mistake

At around 5 p.m., an officer slammed on the brakes of his patrol car to avoid hitting a silver BMW X6 careening down the wrong side of the road on Piedmont Avenue near Sidney Marcus Boulevard. “I stopped to avoid a head-on collision with the vehicle,” the officer wrote. “I asked the male what he was doing on the wrong side of the road and he just stared at me.” The cop realized the driver was a forgery/fraud suspect he’d been trying to track down since August 2012. The driver tried to give a fake name, but that didn’t work. Cops found his ID in his wallet. Along with a stolen credit card, a fake identity, and a cashier’s check worth $20,000. The 31-year-old suspect went to jail and was charged with driving on wrong side of road, plus a slew of fraud charges.

Items in the Blotter are taken from actual Atlanta police reports. The Blotter Diva compiles them and puts them into her own words.