Crime & Safety

Weird Police News: $1,950 Check from London Was Fake

More of the strange stuff police officers around Gwinnett and North Georgia were up against recently.

People really fall for this? A Snellville man, who had answered an online ad, thought it was his lucky day when with these instructions: buy various paintings for a British man and keep $400 for yourself. He was arrested for third-degree forgery when he tried to cash the fake check at a gas station — after he had been told at a local bank that it was bogus.

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Blame it on a Bulldog or a Yellow Jacket? A vintage pickup truck painted in the old gold-and-black colors of a certain “North Avenue trade school” was . The 1967 Dodge D100 had Georgia Tech flags on each window and two bulldog stickers with lines through them on the back glass. So, whodunit? Someone not a Tech fan, or, maybe someone who is?

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Did she think it was rent to own? A couple was stopped in Gwinnett County for driving a stolen car that the woman in the passenger’s seat had rented. She told police she knew the car was due back at the rental agency, but was surprised to hear it had been reported as stolen. “I thought they would just send me a bill,” she said, according to the police report. Exactly where did you find that in the rental agreement?

You can’t wash away the bad: A drug-store robber in Stone Mountain took in a little shopping before demanding the clerk clear out the cash register. The man put cigarettes and bottles of body wash on the counter, and while the clerk rang up the items, he showed what looked like a hand gun tucked into his pants. "Just pull out the cash and make it quick," the suspect reportedly said. The robber took $190 in cash as well as the soap and smokes.

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Bad landlord! A Flowery Branch man took his landlord-tenant dispute to a dangerous extreme when he broke into a residence and threatened one of his tenants with a machete. The owner of the residence reportedly broke into the home with a hammer when no one answered his knock at the door before. What were his intentions with the machete? “I was going to hit that [expletive deleted] in the head with it," he told police. The man was told it’s illegal to do what he did, including breaking into the residence. He replied, “Bull----, I go in there whenever I want."

Sorry, I freaked: A Watkinsville teen, who was arrested after allegedly running over a mailbox and bushes with an SUV, told police he “freaked out.” It’s probably not a surprise that the 19-year-old reeked of pot, had bloodshot eyes and was unsteady on his feet. Also not a surprise, he was charged with possession of a controlled substance (diazepam) and marijuana, as well as numerous traffic violations.

Don’t use gas money on meth: A Loganville man in Rockdale County. He ran after the cops stopped and found probable cause to search the disabled vehicle, where they uncovered methamphetamine. He also had an outstanding warrant for — you guessed it — possession of meth.


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