The Blotter: Sock it to you

Near Atlantic Station, a 30-year-old woman said that a young couple knocked on the door of her apartment on 15th Street. “They said they were with Georgia State University and looking for donations to buy books for St. Jude’s,” the woman recalled. The woman didn’t have any cash. That’s OK, the couple said, explaining that they only take checks. The man asked her to write a $2 check made out to Georgia State. The woman got her checkbook and wrote the couple a $2 check. According to the police report, the couple had another request: They said they’re on a scavenger hunt and asked the woman for a “Q-tip and a cotton ball.” Repeatedly. Eventually, the woman agreed, went to her bathroom, rummaged around, and found a Q-tip and cotton ball. When she returned, the couple said the last thing on their list was a black sock and wanted to know if she could round one up. The woman retrieved a black sock as well. Then the young couple left — with the $2 check, Q-tip, cotton ball, and a single black sock.

The next day, the woman’s bank called stating that a man tried to cash a fraudulent check from her account. The woman looked at her checkbook and realized the couple must have stolen a few blank checks while she was walking around her apartment looking for their scavenger hunt items.

Police arrested the man trying to cash a $380 check at a Peachtree Center bank. At first, the man said he got the check by selling books. The cop asked: “What books do you sell?” He simply replied, “I don’t sell books.” He went to jail on forgery charges.

Unruly mom: One morning before classes began, a 39-year-old parent was irate, belligerent, and cursing up a storm on the front lawn of an APS middle school. No one could figure out why the mother was so outraged. The school’s principal called the cops. When police arrived, the angry mother was still cursing loudly in front of several students. Cops quickly cuffed the mother and dragged her off to jail for disorderly conduct.

APS intelligence test: Police responded to a call from a local public high school. “A teacher at the school reported to me while testing was going on Monday May 6 ... between the hours of (2pm and 3pm) an Apple Macbook computer that was being used for testing was stolen by an unknown person,” the reporting officer wrote. “[The teacher] stated [surveillance] cameras are in the area where the theft occurred, but were not in working order. The principal said the serial number for the stolen computer could not be located.” No suspects. We’re so glad to see testing security is being taken so seriously after that cheating scandal rocked the Atlanta Public Schools system.

Freaky burn: A 21-year-old man was driving on I-20 when he noticed “something from underneath the dash.” He pulled over near downtown. He looked down and saw sparks flying from his car. So he got out, popped the hood, and disconnected the car’s battery. “The sparks coming from the hood then turned into flames and engulfed the entire vehicle,” the officer wrote. No one was injured. The man’s completely burnt, 2000 Nissan Maxima was towed from the scene. Nothing further.

Gutter roll: Near Lakewood, a 38-year-old woman said she left her wallet (containing $2,000 cash) on a couch inside a bowling alley. She didn’t realize her wallet was missing until she was in her car, looking around for it. So she walked back to the bowling alley and asked the DJ if he had seen her wallet. Luckily, the DJ had her wallet. He said another woman in a cutoff denim jacket had turned it in. The woman opened her wallet and found that all $2,000 was gone, so she called police.

An officer found the jean-jacket woman in the bowling alley bathroom. She said she found the wallet on the bathroom sink and checked it, but there was no cash in it. The first woman believed her. She said, “I know this girl, she would never do anything like that to me.”

Extra shields: An officer was preparing to start his shift at the precinct near Centennial Olympic Park when he spotted something unusual. “While I was performing my routine vehicle inspection, I found on the front passenger seat 12 Lifestyle Ultra Lubricated condoms wrapped in a bundle with a rubber band — as well as How to Use instructions.” Immediately, the officer grabbed the condoms, walked back into the precinct, and filed the condoms into police property. Nothing further.

Let’s party, replacement: Near Bush Mountain, a 59-year-old woman said she invited a 31-year-old woman over to her apartment on Peeples Street. “The two women were drinking all day,” the reporting officer wrote. The older woman brought up the fact that she is now seeing the younger woman’s boyfriend. An argument ensued, and the younger woman reportedly threw the older woman’s TV on the floor and broke her “mid-1970s-looking stereo speaker.”

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