Full Notification

Citizens,

I want to take a few minutes to stress the importance of proactive crime prevention in light of a serious incident that occurred over the weekend.

A couple of weeks ago, a resident left her garage door open when she went out for a short time and came home to find that a garage door opener had been removed from a vehicle in her garage. She did not call the police to report it. A few days later, she heard her garage door open while she was inside her home. Instead of calling the police, she called a male friend to come over and check it out. He found nothing and nothing was reported to us.

On Friday evening, she again heard her garage door open and again called her friend to come and check it for her. Her friend arrived to find a black male in the garage armed with a knife. An altercation ensued and the homeowner's friend received superficial knife wounds on his hand. Luckily, he was armed with a golf club and was able to eventually fight off the assailant, who then fled away on foot. Officers were called to the scene approximately 20 minutes later.

Due to the time frame, K9 units were unable to pick up a scent for tracking and the suspect remains at large.

Adding to the issue, the suspect dropped the stolen garage door opener as he fled and the homeowner picked it up and replaced it in the vehicle from which it was stolen. Due to its handling, no useful fingerprints could be pulled from the device.

The suspect is described as a black male, 5'10 to 6' in height and approximately 185 pounds. He was last seen wearing jeans, a black shirt, and a ball cap and he has a short beard. Please call us at 770-487-4732 if you have any information.

Given the information above, I cannot stress the importance of reporting suspicious activity strongly enough. A report of the stolen garage door opener would have resulted in extra patrols in this area. A quick call to 911 when the garage door opened COULD have resulted in an arrest - officers have advised that they were seconds away when this incident began based on the time frame.


It's also important to note that we have taken several other reports involving thefts where vehicles containing valuables have been left unlocked and where valuable items have been left outside unprotected.

Despite our low crime rates, we do still face the same crime issues experienced in cities and towns of all sizes so it is vital that our citizens take an active role in crime prevention and it's equally important that our citizens call 911 or 770-461-HELP (4357) to report suspicious activity - no matter how trivial it may seem to you at the time.

In closing, I offer the following list of basic crime prevention steps:

1. Keep your doors (home, garage, out building, and vehicle) closed and locked at all times - even when you're home.
2. If you leave valuables in vehicles, place them out of sight - under a seat, in the glovebox or console, in the trunk, etc.
3. Turn your garage door opener off at night. Most newer models have a switch on the wall control to either lock the system down or turn the power off.
4. Call 911 or 770-461-HELP (4357) ANYTIME you see or hear something suspicious. MANY crimes have been prevented or solved and several people have found themselves in jail based on citizen reports of mundane suspicious activity.
5. If an incident occurs, refrain from touching anything within the crime scene and call 911 immediately.

It is our job to respond to any citizen calls for service courteously and in a timely manner 24/7, so please be proactive in helping us keep Tyrone one of the safest communities in Metro Atlanta by reporting anything that is out of place.

Respectfully,

Chief Brandon Perkins