Surveillance camera footage recently uploaded to YouTube shows a person allegedly trying to break into cars at the Milltown Lofts in Reynoldstown on Aug. 9. The first video, filmed around 3:30 a.m., shows a man moseying through the parking lot and unsuccessfully trying to enter a black Toyota 4Runner.
Three hours later, the same man returns. He peers into the same car and then walks behind a silver pick-up truck. Several minutes later, the man is seen strolling past the camera and rolling a keyboard.
On Sunday, July 26, nonprofit arts center WonderRoot will host a “cops and robbers”-themed shindig to celebrate the reopening of its digital media lab. (A recent break-in resulted in the loss of five computers, forcing the lab’s temporary closure.)
From WonderRoot Executive Director Chris Appleton:
Join us this Sunday at 8pm for a ‘Cops and Robbers’ themed reopening party of the WonderRoot digital media lab. As most of you have heard, there was a burglary at WonderRoot last week and we were forced to temporarily close our digital media lab. And while we are both sad and disappointed about the break-in, there is exciting news to report. The Digital Lab will reopen this upcoming weekend and we want you to join us in celebrating.
We would like to send a special thanks to the community for all the concern and willingness to help out. In fact, because of some of you the police were able to recover some of the stolen computers. We have been overwhelmed with the kind words and support expressed in light of the unfortunate events. This is why we want to celebrate. WonderRoot wants all of you to know that we are committed to continue providing state-of-the-art facilities. We believe that empowering the community with these resources will lead to a stronger, healthier, and more sustainable Atlanta.
Burglars, beware. Big Brother — or at least a fancy surveillance system — is watching.
Atlantans are fighting back against break-ins by publicizing videos of the culprits. The latest: A brief snippet of a guy who attempted to break into an Adair Park home using two shovels. The man is believed to be responsible for a dozen burglaries in the neighborhood.
The Internets can be an effective crime-fighting tool for those who can’t wait for John Walsh to call.
On Monday, Dan and Alyssa Kopp of Grant Park were victims of a break-in that cost them their flat-screen TV, a laptop and a digital camera. However, their home security camera had caught the entire burglary on video, showing the three thieves and their SUV in high definition.
They posted the video to YouTube on Tuesday, alerted some friends and within a few hours they’d received calls from us, the AJC and several TV news crews. By 5 p.m., the video of the smash-and-grab burglary had been watched by more than 5,000 people, some of whom posted tips.
On Thursday, according to the AJC, police acting on one such tip raided a house in South DeKalb, where they found eight stolen flat-screen televisions, three laptop computers and several digital cameras. Six suspects, all in their 20s, were arrested.
Earlier today, a friend sent me a YouTube link that scared the crap outa me. In the 90-second video, an SUV pulls up to a house, three guys come onto the back porch, peer through the windows, and then one of them kicks in the door. A few seconds later, they carry a large flat-screen TV out to the SUV and take off.
The reason I had such a strong reaction to the video is because it was taken by surveillance camera at a house in Grant Park a few blocks from mine. I’ve been hearing about these smash-and-grab robberies around the neighborhood for months now, but it’s unnerving to actually watch one in action.
Imagine, then, how unnerving the event was for Dan and Alyssa Kopp, the owners of the burglarized home.
Alyssa says the couple decided to install the video surveillance system when their house was unoccupied during a lengthy renovation earlier this year. Dan, a computer engineer, pulled the burglary footage off a hard drive and edited it down from four minutes.
The couple posted the video online and sent it to friends. As of late afternoon, it had been seen by nearly 2,000 YouTube visitors. So far, the Kopps have been contacted by us, the AJC and several local TV stations. Such is the power of the internets.
Alyssa has been pleasantly surprised by the speed of the response. Even as we talked on the phone, friends were sending her messages about a similar burglary video from East Atlanta, also on YouTube. Website visitors have posted comments speculating on the identity of the thieves.
The crime occurred around 10 a.m. Monday. The burglars were in the house for less than 30 seconds. In addition to the TV, they stole a laptop and a digital camera, Alyssa says. The police dusted for prints and took a report, but Alyssa sounds more optimistic about leads coming out of the video posting.
“I’d rather not get our stuff back, and have them catch these guys so they stop terrorizing the neighborhood,” she says.
Monday morning, Memorial Day, I pulled my car into the driveway of my Ormewood Park rental house that sits perched near the top of a hill on Glenwood Avenue, just a stone’s throw from the sweet Glenwood Park development that has served as a barometer for the growth in the neighborhood ever since I moved here from New Orleans almost exactly a year ago. Almost immediately, I could see the trail of evidence: strewn DVDs, a few soiled napkins that only could have come from inside, and, oddly enough, a half-eaten bratwurst, and a half-gnarled tortilla. Huh?
I knew one thing had happened: My four-decade streak of never having been burglarized had been unceremoniously snapped. It had been a good, safe run; previously, I’d only suffered car break-ins in both Tallahassee and New Orleans (that’s what you get for driving a Miata). And now it was over.
