Police are sending out word that there’s going to be an East Cobb crime forum Thursday night to address a rash of burglaries affecting citizens of Asian and Indian descent.
The meeting starts at 7 p.m. at the East Cobb Senior Center (3322 Sandy Plains Road).
Here’s more from Lt. Nathan McCreary, head of the Cobb Police Precinct 4 Criminal Investigations Unit:
The forum will focus on the increase in burglaries targeting the Asian and Indian community in East Cobb County. All citizens are invited to attend and encouraged to participate. The presentation will include crime stats and methods for all citizens to use to decrease the potential of becoming a victim.
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The latest Cobb Police Precinct 4 crime statistics reveal some good news about burglaries and car break-ins.
In its monthly PENs notification message for July, Precinct 4 officers said that 32 residential burglaries have been reported since May, down 43 percent from this time a year ago.
Vehicle break-ins are also down a bit, from 107 from May-July 2017 to 101 this summer.
What police are continuing to encourage you to do, as they always do, is keep your vehicles locked at all times.
In recent weeks the department has been issuing social media reminders to lock up and stay safe, whether at home or in your car.
Cobb Police are calling this the #9pmReminder. Each evening at this time, the messages go out on their social media accounts for you to do the following:
Lock all doors (even back doors and porch doors)
Leave exterior lights on (they deter loitering and burglars)
Pull your car in the garage, if possible, and remove your valuables, LOCK, and CLOSE the garage door (just because your car is in a garage, doesn’t mean it is secure).
Bring all items of value indoors (lawn decorations, toys, etc.).
Bring in mail (it has your information on it and is sought by those who want to steal your identity).
Set your alarms before bed (burglars do not like audible alarms).
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Cobb Police said Thursday that Officer Robert New has been charged with criminal solicitation and computer pornography involving the use of wireless internet. Police said they’re investigating with the Cobb County District Attorney’s Office.
Both of the new charges are felonies. Warrant information indicates that New attempted to solicit a 12-year-old girl and another female related to her via text.
New, 46, who has been a patrol officer at the East Cobb-based Precinct 4, remains in the Cobb County Adult Detention Center without bond.
He was arrested at his home on Hawkins Store Road and charged with assault and battery involving a woman in an off-duty incident. New is accused of slapping and choking a 44-year-old woman in a sexual encounter in March.
At a press conference Tuesday, Cobb Police Chief Mike Register said investigators believe New met the woman online. After a forensic interview with the woman, he said, they determined she had the mental capacity of a child between 10 and 14 years of age.
Register also said the department is responding to a non-criminal administrative complaint against New by another woman.
New had his first hearing with a Cobb Magistrate Court judge Tuesday and was told his bond hearing would be July 10. He has been placed on administrative leave without pay by Cobb Police.
New began his Cobb Police career at Precinct 4 and served on the department’s DUI task force before returning to Precinct 4.
East Cobb News does not publish photographs of crime suspects before their cases have gone through the legal system, and then only if they are convicted or plead guilty and are sentenced.
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A Cobb Police officer charged with aggravated assault stemming from an off-duty incident with a woman has been placed on unpaid administrative leave while an internal investigation against him continues.
At a brief news conference Tuesday afternoon, Cobb Police Chief Mike Register said Officer Robert L. New has been a patrol officer at Precinct 4 in East Cobb.
According to the Cobb Sheriff’s Office, New was booked late Monday night on a felony charge of aggravated assault-strangulation and a misdemeanor charge of simple battery. He remains in the Cobb County Adult Detention Center without bond, according to jail records.
Register said New was arrested around 10 p.m. at his home after police received a complaint on Saturday “concerning acts of violence with an adult female.”
Cobb Police began an investigation led by Capt. Everett Cebula, head of internal affairs and until recently the deputy commander at Precinct 4, and the department’s sexual victims unit.
Register didn’t specify the acts, although an arrest warrant indicates New is accused of slapping and choking the woman during a sexual encounter sometime in March at his home on Hawkins Store Road.
Register said it’s “fairly certain” New met the woman online.
The chief said a forensic interview with the woman determined that she had a mental capacity of between 10 and 14 years of age.
Register said in response to a media question about the incident that “both parties consented, but the actions that took place during the encounter brought us to take out warrants against Officer New.”
Register said search warrants have been taken out for “where the incident occurred” and that portion of the investigation is continuing.
He also said the department is acting “with the intent to reach a timely decision” about New’s employment status.
Register said New started with Cobb Police in February 2005 and was assigned to Precinct 4 in East Cobb. He later served on the department’s DUI Task Force before returning to Precinct 4.
“We will do the right thing for the victim and the process for the officer,” Register said.
East Cobb News does not publish photographs of crime suspects before their cases have gone through the legal system, and then only if they are convicted or plead guilty and are sentenced.
UPDATED, Wednesday, June 20, 1:11 P.M.: On Tuesday night, New briefly appeared before a Cobb Magistrate Judge at the Cobb jail, and was told he would have a July 10 bond hearing.
New remains in custody without bond.
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Cobb Police Precinct 4 has lost its criminal investigations leader but his successor has local ties.
Lt. Nathan McCreary is the new commander of the East Cobb precinct’s criminal investigations unit. He’s a Walton High School graduate and also attended Dickerson Middle School.
He succeeds Brian Kitchens, who been promoted from lieutenant to captain and is now the assistant commander in Precinct 2 in South Cobb.
McCreary, an Air Force veteran and graduate of Kennesaw State University, will mark his 20th year as a member of Cobb Police next month.
He has served in a number of capacities with Cobb Police, and for the last two years he has served as the Precinct 4 morning watch commander.
McCreary also spent five years in media relations and is a crisis negotiator.
In the most recent statistics, a total of 340 break-ins have been reported in the county since March 1, 29 of them in Precinct 4.
Here’s what police are saying about all this, and what break-in thieves are looking for:
“There are two main areas where these entering autos occur. Most occurrences happen at the victim’s residence as the vehicle is parked in a driveway. These cases are usually crimes of opportunity committed by ‘door flippers.’ Basically, a group of criminals enter a subdivision overnight and walk through the neighborhood flipping door handles to see if a vehicle is unlocked. If it is locked, they move on. Of course, if the vehicle is unlocked, the criminals ransack the interior and collect any items of value. These thieves are looking for cash, electronics, credit cards, and guns.
“The other location these entering autos are occurring is fitness centers. Criminals are often savvy and know most people don’t like bringing valuables into a gym for fear of having their valuables lost or stolen. Therefore, many leave their valuables in the cab of their vehicles. This is a prime location for thieves to target. A quick smashed window and the criminals have access to purses, wallets, laptops, etc.”
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Cobb Police Precinct 4 officers say parking lots at gyms and fitness centers remain among the leading venues for car break-ins. (East Cobb News photos by Wendy Parker)
Before doing a deep dive into East Cobb crime statistics, a Cobb Police captain reminded local business leaders this week of a simple preventive measure that’s not being taken enough to address a spike in one of the community’s recurring crime issues.
“People aren’t locking their doors.”
Not just their car doors, but also garage doors and residential entrances, leading to easy opportunities for burglary, theft and other offenses, according to Capt. Everett Cebula, the deputy commander of Precinct 4 in East Cobb.
On Tuesday, Cebula told attendees at an East Cobb Business Association breakfast that car break-ins—referred to on crime reports as “entering auto”—have gone up quite a bit in Precinct 4 since 2012, in residential communities, commercial areas and public venues like parks.
In 2012, there were 392 reported car break-ins in Precinct 4. That number jumped to 597 in 2016 and fell slightly slightly last year to 567 (see table at bottom).
Cebula said gym and fitness center parking lots are prime territory for thieves looking to plunder goods from vehicles, since patrons often leave valuables inside the car and in open view while they’re working out.
In a refrain to messages police routinely give during the holiday shopping season, he urged gym-goers to secure items even before they pull up into the parking lot.
“Take those items and put them in the trunk before you go into the gym,” he said.
Thefts also have gone up in Precinct 4 in the 2012-2017 reporting period. Burglaries—both residential and non-residential—also have gradually dropped since 2012, and more violent crimes, such as murder, rape, aggravated assault and robbery, are fairly low in East Cobb compared to the rest of the county.
From left, Cobb Precinct 4 Capt. Everett Cebula, Lt. Brian Kitchens and Maj. Brian Batterton, the incoming commander. (East Cobb News photo by Wendy Parker)
One measure police have been taking in recent years to crack down on car break-ins is the use of racketeering laws. That’s because they’ve noticed that these incidents are more frequently connected to larger criminal rings, or repeated activity by solo criminals.
If police can establish a criminal enterprise, they can go outside the county and track down break-in suspects and bring their activity into one case.
Lt. Brian Kitchens, the head of Precinct 4’s criminal investigations, said that last summer his unit was able to use what’s known as the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations law—or RICO—to pull together more than a dozen cases for landscaping theft. The suspect in those incidents, he said, is still in jail.
He said “RICO goes a step further” and enables the judicial system to toughen punishments for repeated crimes.
He said another suspect was getting probation for car break-ins committed in various jurisdictions, but the use of RICO revealed that he had 55 such arrests, and a few more cases have been added. That suspect, Kitchens said, was offered a 20-year sentence, with 13 to serve.
Kitchens, who headed up the creation of a car break-in task force by Cobb Police in 2015, said RICO can be used to address other crimes.
He said police are getting more reports of break-ins at businesses like eyeglass stores, women’s clothing boutiques and specialty shops.
“We can expand this to protecting your business,” Kitchens told the ECBA attendees.
The table below has been compiled from Cobb Police data. The first figure in each box is for Precinct 4, and figures in parenthesis are from all of Cobb County.
Precinct 4 includes most of East Cobb, ranging from the eastern side of Canton Road to the Windy Hill Road area in the Powers Ferry corridor.
Part 1 crimes are the most serious and violent offenses against people and property, according to federal Uniform Crime Reports guidelines. They include homicide, rape, aggravated assault, robbery, burglary, theft, auto theft and arson.
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
Part 1 Crimes
1306 (8800)
1335 (8506)
1196 (8261)
1245 (8695)
1281 (8615)
1264 (8204)
Crimes Against Persons
78 (581)
59 (526)
72 (535)
102 (658)
99 (718)
74 (638)
Crimes Against Property
1228 (8219)
1276 (7980)
1124 (7726)
1143 (8037)
1182 (7897)
1190 (7566)
Homicide
2 (14)
4 (20)
3 (16)
3 (17)
2 (17)
2 (24)
Rape
19 (142)
14 (114)
16 (108)
23 (140)
21 (132)
20 (137)
Robbery
39 (405)
31 (409)
43 (392)
50 (428)
40 (449)
35 (397)
Agg. Assault
57 (425)
41 (392)
53 (411)
76 (501)
76 (569)
52 (480)
Res. Burglary
325 (2334)
365 (1992)
237 (1708)
209 (1694)
240 (1438)
226 (1176)
Non-Res. Burglary
127 (733)
113 (652)
105 (692)
118 (732)
87 (764)
90 (685)
Entering Auto
392 (2512)
422 (2723)
477 (3059)
279 (4062)
597 (3864)
567 (4070)
Theft
647 (3950)
665 (4100)
652 (3992)
659 (4216)
696 (4276)
730 (4359)
Vehicle Theft
90 (797)
102 (827)
87 (942)
107 967)
119 (970)
109 (949)
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A new community affairs initiative by Cobb Police, “Coffee With A Cop,” takes place from 5-7 today at the Panera Bread location at The Avenue East Cobb, 4475 Lower Roswell Road.
Officer Nathalie Jegg, the community affairs officer for Precinct 4 in East Cobb, will meet with citizens to discuss public safety issues of concern to them.
It’s part of a community policing program begun by Cobb Police Chief Mike Register, who created the position of community officers in all five precincts.
Here’s how Sgt. Jeff Tatroe, the Cobb Police community affairs unit leader, describes the concept:
Coffee with your Cop brings police officers and the community members they serve together–over coffee–to discuss issues and learn more about each other. In the time it takes to drink a cup of coffee, citizens and police officers can get to know each other and discover mutual goals for the communities they live in and serve. Officer Nathalie Jegg (Pct. 4 Community Affairs Officer) and other Cobb Police officers will be present to engage in discussion. The event will allow you to discuss matters that are most important to you and your neighborhood(s).
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For the first time, the Cobb County Police Department is conducting an annual coat drive, and East Cobb’s Precinct 4 is one the places you can drop off old coats for distribution.
The drive is called “Giving the Gift of Warmth,” and it’s part of the expanded outreach efforts of the Cobb PD’s community affairs department (previous East Cobb Newspost here of new chief Mike Register’s recent talk on that and other subjects before the East Cobb Civic Association).
Precinct 4, located in the East Cobb Government Service Center at 4400 Lower Roswell Road, will be accepting items through Dec. 1. Cobb PD says the best times to drop off items are from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, except for county holidays. Here’s more from Cobb PD about what they’re looking for and what they’re going to do with what they collect:
“The donation of your gently used coats and other winter wear (scarves, hats, and gloves) to kids and families in need is appreciated by all. Your donated items will be shared with numerous organizations throughout Cobb County.”
The other precinct locations are as follows, and the same Dec. 1 cutoff date applies:
Pct. 1—2380 Cobb Parkway, Kennesaw;
Pct. 2— 4700 Austell Road, Austell;
Pct. 3—1901 Cumberland Parkway, Atlanta;
Pct. 5—4640 Dallas Highway, Powder Springs;
H.Q.—140 North Marietta Parkway, Marietta.
If you want to donate but can’t go to a dropoff point, contact Sgt. Jeff Tatroe, the Cobb PD Community Affairs Unit supervisor at 770-499-3981 or email jeff.tatroe@cobbcounty.org to have your items picked up.
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More than 70 officers and staff from the Cobb Police Department’s Precinct 4 turned out Thursday night for the 5th annual East Cobb Public Safety Appreciation Dinner at the Olde Towne Athletic Club.
The event, sponsored by the East Cobb Business Association, featured a Western and casino theme, with line dancing and music, and tables with poker, blackjack, Texas Hold ‘Em and more.
Officers and staff received awards and gifts, including dinners and raffle prizes, and were invited to bring their spouses or significant others for a relaxing night away from the demands of their work.
While they were enjoying the evening, members of the Cobb Police Department’s Community Traffic Services Unit were holding down the Precinct 4 fort on Lower Roswell Road, and were served dinner courtesy of Sam’s BBQ-1 in East Cobb.
Maj. Jerry Quan, the Precinct 4 commander, said the appreciation dinner is eagerly anticipated by his officers. He also said the gesture by the ECBA and other groups and individuals who put on the dinner helps bolster strong community bonds with local police.
The ECBA is also organizing a similar dinner for all Cobb Fire and Emergency Services personnel next spring. For information, contact Susan Hampton: susan.hampton@lionbank.com or Kim Paris: kim.paris@wellstar.org.
Precinct 4 Commander Maj. Jerry Quan, left and field training officer Robbie New enjoying a meal and conversation.Det. Paul Barnhill (center, with glasses), getting his East Cobb Officer of the Year award from Cobb Police Chief Mike Register.Field training officer Tommy Burns, the East Cobb morning watch officer of the year, getting his sketch done.
In the wake of the Las Vegas shootings, the Cobb Police Department has announced it will be holding active shooter training classes for the public this month, in each of its five precincts.
The training session for East Cobb’s Precinct 4 is Oct. 24 at 7 p.m. at Chestnut Ridge Christian Church, 2663 Johnson Ferry Road. The event is free and is open to the public.
Various Cobb public safety organizations held an event on Monday, and that was organized by Marietta first responders and Marietta City Schools, to remember the Las Vegas shooting victims and to instruct citizens how to respond to a mass shooting.
If you can’t attend the Precinct 4 event, the other sessions being held around the county are as follows:
Precinct 1
Thursday, October 26th at Precinct 1, 7:00 PM, please RSVP for Precinct 1’s Active Shooting Response Training, contact 770-499-4181 or 770-499-3967
Cobb County Police Precinct 1
2380 Cobb PKWY
Kennesaw, GA 30152
Precinct 2
Tuesday, October 24th at South Cobb High School Theater, 7:00 PM
South Cobb High School Theater
1920 Clay Rd SW
Austell, GA 30106
Precinct 3
Monday, October 23rd at Precinct 3, 7:00 PM
Cobb County Police Precinct 3
1901 Cumberland PKWY SE
Atlanta, GA 30339
Precinct 5
Wednesday, October 25th, at Harrison High School, 7:00 PM
Harrison High School
4500 Due West Rd NW
Kennesaw, GA 30152
