The Blotter March 26 2003

At 7:45 a.m., a woman arrived at a church on Ponce de Leon Avenue. She saw a female impersonator asleep on church property. The impersonator was a 29-year-old Decatur man with long, curly brown hair. He wore a multicolored sweater, jeans and black suede boots. The woman blew a loud horn at him, but he refused to leave. Police arrived and asked the impersonator to leave. The impersonator refused. The impersonator had clothes over his face and mumbled as if he were on drugs or alcohol, police noted. The impersonator, who has a butterfly tattoo on his back, was taken to jail.

A 38-year-old man from Calgary, Canada, called Atlanta police about a money scam. The Canadian met a woman from Clarkston through his male partner. The Canadian said the woman promised that if he wired her $1,700 in U.S. money, she would start the paperwork on financing a multimillion-dollar oil and gas project in Canada. So, the Canadian sent $1,700 to a Western Union in Stone Mountain. After the woman got the money, the Canadian said, there was a notable decline in the amount of attention she paid to him on a business level. She simply stopped returning his calls. The woman’s workplace in Atlanta was closed and the main phone number was disconnected.

In an apartment on Hightower Road, a 33-year-old woman said she last saw her baby’s shoes at 11:30 p.m. She returned to the apartment at 1 a.m., and heard that the shoes were stolen. The woman said a specific neighbor stole her baby’s shoes (which are worth $80). But the woman couldn’t tell police where the neighbor lives.

A 26-year-old man on Hemphill Avenue left the back door of his home open while he was gone for about three hours. When the 26-year-old returned, he realized someone had stolen a drill/circular saw (worth $550) and a radio ($100). He said the thief left a SuperSoaker water gun in his home.

An officer saw a blue Ford Explorer turn off Martin Luther King Jr. Drive without using a turn signal. The officer turned on his blue lights. The driver, a 32-year-old man, jumped out of the car and ran. (But the driver forgot to put the Explorer into the “park” gear; so the Explorer rolled into another car.). The officer chased the driver and tackled him to the ground. The driver tried to hit the officer, but missed.

The driver ran. The officer tried to hit the man with his police baton, but the officer dropped and lost the baton. The officer took out his pepper spray. “I attempted to spray him several times, but I couldn’t brake the seal,” noted the officer. Eventually, the officer sprayed the driver’s face. (The driver had tattoos of teardrops on his face). But pepper spray did not end the fighting. Finally, backup officers showed up and handcuffed the driver.

Police deduced that the Explorer was stolen.

An officer reported some damage to an APD Ford Crown Victoria patrol car: “While participating in a street scene scenario, I was being ‘arrested’ by a Recruit Police Officer participating in their survival week. We became entangled and fell into the passenger side door and damaged the right side mirror. I advised [a lieutenant] of the damage.”

An officer saw a silver Porsche in the bushes at the dead end of West Peachtree Street. The driver, a 32-year-old Duluth man, said he had two beers and a shot of Jagermeister. The driver said, on the advice of his lawyer, he would refuse to take any sobriety tests. The driver handed police a piece of paper that referenced a pending DUI case in Gwinnett County. The driver said he was just driving and the street just stopped. No other cars were damaged.

On Martin Luther King Drive a 29-year-old woman said she tried to get her key back from her ex-boyfriend, and he threw bleach on her and tried to choke her. She complained of severe shoulder pain, but refused medical attention, saying she couldn’t afford it.

A 22-year-old woman on Peachtree Street said she was trying to call a friend but mistakenly dialed the wrong number. Soon after her mistaken call, she received phone calls from an East Point woman. The East Point woman accused the 22-year-old of dating her husband. The 22-year-old pointed out that she didn’t know the East Point woman’s husband. Still, the East Point woman continued to call. The 22-year-old contacted police. While the officer completed the police report, the East Point woman called several times.

A 34-year-old Decatur man said he was on Simpson Street when two men in hats approached him and asked him about the $5 that he owed them. The 34-year-old knew both men. The 34-year-old said he didn’t have the money, so the first man (wearing a red and white hat) pulled out a gun and shot him twice in the legs. The first man and the second man (wearing a yellow and red hat) left before police arrived. Medical workers said the leg injuries were not life-threatening.

A 25-year-old woman left her apartment on Ruby Harper Drive for about two weeks. She wanted to spend time with her aunt. One day, a friend called and said someone broke into the 25-year-old’s apartment. The 25-year-old went home and found both doors and a window open. Her clothes were on the floor and her TV was gone. She walked to the back of the apartment and saw a bald man standing near the building. The man wore her Tommy shirt and pants. The woman didn’t say anything to the man. Later, police asked her why she didn’t say anything to the man. “I don’t know,” she said.

All items in The Blotter are taken from actual Atlanta police reports and are public record.