Rude awakening on Confederate Avenue
May 20, 2008 at 2:38 pm by Mara Shalhoup in NewsUsually, the most excitement East Confederate Avenue sees is a car wreck. There have been a few over the past year. On those occasions, neighbors congregated on the sidewalk to see what happened and to lend a hand if they could.
That’s what makes the incident at the painted brick house on the corner of Confederate and Woodland all the more shocking. Early this morning, the police cars that descended on Confederate, at the south end of Ormewood Park, weren’t responding to an accident. They were investigating the murder of two men. And according to CBS 46, police later learned that a third victim had been kidnapped from the house and severely beaten. He was discovered by a passer-by in the trunk of an abandoned car two miles away.
The neighbors were dazed. I know, because I’m one of them.
At around 1 a.m., I awoke to the flashing blue lights on the bedroom wall. A short while later, I glanced out the window to see an ambulance pull silently away from the scene. Later, when I took the dog for his morning walk, I learned there was no need for sirens.
Witnesses had reported hearing gunshots and breaking glass (somehow, I slept through that) and saw a man stumble from the brick house and collapse next to the Baptist church next door. Police found him dead at the scene. The second victim died inside the house.
Atlanta Councilwoman Carla Smith, who lives a few houses down Woodland from where the shooting occurred, says she went to check out the scene in the early morning hours, wearing her pajamas, and remained behind the crime-scene tape.
She realized the severity of the situation when she noticed the telltale attire of the arriving investigators: “As soon as I saw those fedora hats, I was like, ‘Oh no, there was a homicide.’”
She also says that, based on phone conversations with police, “It was probably drug related.”
The man discovered in the trunk, who had just moved into the house on Confederate the day before, confirmed the drug angle. According to the AJC:
The man, whose name has not been released, “admits that it was part of a drug deal that had actually gone bad,” [Atlanta police Lt. Keith] Meadows said. “He was scheduled to meet the other individuals that were involved in the drug deal, and I guess things kind of went awry and they ended up killing the two that were inside the house and putting him in the trunk of the car.”
Smith says the loss of life is a tragedy — one that she hopes won’t reflect poorly on Ormewood Park. She wants people to know that the evidence suggests this was not a random crime.
“I really have deep roots here and love this neighborhood,” she says. “And I am not scared at all.”
Send to a friend:
May 20th, 2008 at 5:33 pm
Legalise drugs and this crap goes away.
Whens the last time you saw a bunch of Budweiser execs do a drive-by at a Miller execs house?
May 21st, 2008 at 10:21 am
I live in the neighborhood and there is definitely more to this story than meets the eye. Why did the girlfriend of the “kidnapped” victim approach the crime scene so nonchalantly? What was she doing walking around at 1am anyway? And why was she so nonchalant when being questioned by detectives and police? And why did the kidnapped “victim” not have severe breathing problems after having been locked in a trunk for 12 hours? And why was he merely kidnapped, anyway, when the other guys were shot?
These are lingering questions and I am hopeful that the detectives discern a suspicious situation here.
May 21st, 2008 at 10:30 am
She was not a girl frind of Calvin she was a friend that though she was helping him move from alabama and was used! And the detective called her to tell her something had happend at the house that she signed for the key too, she is scared out of her mind so please don’t comment on her i know she did not have anything to do with this!!
May 21st, 2008 at 10:33 am
but i defenatly agree, its alot more to the story, He is being charged with murder and i think that why he had her to get that house
June 1st, 2008 at 3:43 pm
Here’s an update that says they have charged the guy found in the trunk:
http://www.ajc.com/search/content/metro/atlanta/stories/2008/05/29/victim_now_suspect.html