Fresh Loaf

Videodrome, the Poncey-Highland movie rental store that’s been a go-to for film buffs since 1997, was robbed Friday night.

Owner Matt Booth tells CL that a male suspect entered the store at approximately 10:45 p.m. and browsed film selections. After purchasing a movie, the suspect allegedly displayed a gun to the clerk and demanded the contents of the register. (Booth declined to say how much cash the suspect took.)

No one was injured during the robbery. An Atlanta Police Department spokesman told CL he was working on providing more details about the case. We’ll update when we hear word.

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Number of reported burglaries, larcenies and automobile thefts in Atlanta in 2008: 38,978

Percentage increase in Atlanta property crimes in 2008, compared to the previous year: 7.6

Percentage that property crime decreased across the country in 2008: 1.6

Number of times a Poncey-Highland gym was broken into in the first weeks of June: 5

Number of intown bars hit in one night in May by thieves apparently looking for flat-screen TVs: 4

Number of times a Midtown clothing boutique was hit by “smash-and-grab” burglars in May: 2

Total number of burglaries, larcenies and thefts that occurred in Atlanta during the first three months of 2009 (most recent statistics): 7,980

Number of same crimes that occurred during the first three months of 2008: 8,804

Atlanta’s rank in a disputed survey of the nation’s most dangerous cities: 2

Sources: Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Atlanta Police Department, FBI Annual Crime Statistics, Real Clear Politics

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Jamarcus Usher, on his MySpace page

Late Wednesday night, two bar patrons leaving East Atlanta’s Graveyard Tavern were approached by 29-year-old Jamarcus Usher. After the couple climbed into their vehicle, Usher reached for his waistband. Fearing that Usher was a threat, one of the bar patrons knocked him to the ground back a few feet with the door of his pickup truck, then shot and killed him after Usher raised his weapon.

Eerily, Usher’s MySpace page lists his occupation as “staying alive.”

Another bit of strangeness: Usher died in almost the exact spot where, eight years ago, another robbery suspect was shot and killed.

It’s not yet clear if this week’s shooting has anything to do with the climate of fear that has descended on Atlanta following a recent spate of violent crime, including the shooting death of John Henderson. Henderson, a bartender at the Standard in nearby Grant Park, was killed Jan. 7 by armed robbers who broke into the Memorial Drive restaurant.

It seems to me that Atlanta — and East Atlanta Village in particular — has been through this before.

(more…)

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• More violent crimes in metro Atlanta — this time in Roswell — even after Mayor Franklin announced yesterday that crime is down around these parts.
• Unemployment hits 16-year high. More than 11 million Americans are now unemployed.
• Hamas and Israel say no to the U.N. demand for a ceasefire.
• Sarah Palin wants Katie Couric to know that Couric “is not the center of everybody’s universe,” further proving how behind on media information Palin is. Literate people have known that for awhile.
• With no writers’ strike to worry about this year, the Golden Globes award ceremony is back on. Now the stars will have to party hard enough for two year’s worth.
• Obama’s planned stimulus package was met with derision from both parties. Not surprising since Democrats are frequently against tax cuts and Republicans are frequently against financial assistance.
• Russia and Ukraine manage to get along. Maybe they should clue other fighting nations into the finer points of nonviolent negotiation.

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