I hope everyone had a very Happy New Year and welcome you to the first edition of the 2019 PENS Bulletin brought to you by the Cobb County Police Criminal Investigations Unit at Precinct Three.

As we move in to the upcoming year, I’d like to let everyone know of some changes that took place, in our department, back in September. Major Jeff Adcock, our precinct commander, was promoted to the rank of Deputy Chief. Again, congratulations to Deputy Chief Adcock!

Precinct Three welcomes back Major Barry Little as Precinct Commander. Major Little previously served the citizens of Zone 3 as our Assistant Precinct Commander but, upon his promotion to Major, was assigned to command Precinct 5, in West Cobb. Major Little started with the Police Department in July 1992.  He has been assigned throughout his career to Precincts 1, 2, 3, and 5, as well as CAGE, Criminal Investigations, Auto Theft, and the Tactical team.  While holding these various positions, he served continuously on S.W.A.T. for 17 years and completed his time on the team as the Assistant Team Commander.  He is the Coordinator for the Peer Support Team and Chaplain program, and serves as one of the Primary Incident Commanders.  Major Little holds his degree in Youth Ministry and teaches a College class at his church.

We also want to welcome Captain Ben Cohen as our Assistant Precinct Commander. Captain Cohen, has been with the Cobb County Police Department since September 1998. He has been assigned to uniform patrol as both a Sergeant and Lieutenant, Organized Crime Unit and Special Operations SWAT/TAC. Captain Cohen has served as the supervisor of the Tactical Team as well as the Assistant SWAT Team Commander. He currently serves as Assistant Incident Commander. Captain Cohen served in the United States Marine Corps and earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Public Administration from Reinhardt University.

Public Safety Topic of the Month

Slider Thefts

Slider thefts continue to plague our community, especially on the southern borders of Cobb County. If you haven’t heard already, “Slider Thefts” typically occur when victims are pumping gas. Thieves enter the gas station parking lot, usually in a stolen vehicle, and pull alongside an unsuspecting victim. The thief crouches down, out of the victim’s view and opens the victim’s car door on the opposite side and steals his/her personal belongings on the front seat or floorboard. In more recent reports, the thieves steal the victim’s vehicle and leave them standing alone as they watch their own vehicle being driven away. With an uptick in these incidents, citizens should take every precaution to avoid becoming a victim.

Tips for Our Citizens

• Pay attention to your surroundings.
• Remove your keys, close the window and lock the doors while pumping gas.
• Take your purse/wallet with you.
• Pick well-lit gas stations equipped with surveillance cameras.
• Do Not let your cell phone distract you.
• Do Not engage suspects as they may be armed.
• Call 911 and provide description of suspect (s), your vehicle description (if stolen), the suspect’s vehicle description and direction of travel.

Our Officers hard at work

Search Warrant / Narcotics

On 1/4/19 at approximately 11:09 p.m., Morning Watch conducted a traffic stop on Timberly Dr at Evergreen Dr for failure to stop at a stop sign and no tag light.  When the officer approached the vehicle, he smelled the odor of marijuana.  A search of the vehicle revealed the driver was in possession of a total of 192 grams of marijuana in separate bags and jars.  The driver also had $2,615.00 cash.  M/C/S Narcotics responded and took possession of the marijuana and seized the drug funds.  The suspect was charged with VGCSA Possession of Marijuana with Intent to Distribute, Failure to Stop at a stop sign, and No Tag Light.

Wanted Person

On 12/29/2018 at approximately 8:36 p.m., two Evening Watch officers were conducting a foot patrol of Smyrna Inn, 5230 South Cobb Drive. They made contact with a subject who provided a false name. When they tried to detain the subject, he fled on foot but was tackled by one of the officers. The male grabbed the officer’s gun belt near the area of his weapon. During the altercation, the male got up and again fled on foot. He was apprehended near South Cobb Drive and Oak Drive.

The subject was a sex offender, Wanted out of Iowa for Escape, Burglary, and other offenses.

One of the officers was treated at Cobb Hospital for minor injuries.

Medical Call

On 12/29/2018, Day Watch responded to a welfare check on Woodridge Dr in the Peak at Vinings Mtn apartment complex to find a young man shouting at passers-by and raving about existential topics.  He left a note outside his apartment indicating that he should be checked on 12/31/2018, Monday night.  The complainant was the subject’s brother, who lived out of state, and indicated that his brother was threatening suicide before the New Year arrived. Officers were able to make entry into the apartment and secure the subject without injury to any person or property. They had a Crisis Response team meet them at the apartment, and based on their investigation, were able to get the subject to Kennestone Hospital for the appropriate medical treatment.  

These are only a few recent examples that demonstrate the hard work and professionalism exhibited by the officers of Precinct 3.

Community Affairs officers for Precinct 3

Officer Stoney is assigned as the Community Affairs officer serving the community in Precinct 3.

The Community Affairs Unit seeks to effectively engage the community and citizens to strengthen Public Safety and community partnerships, facilitate a joint effort in solving problems which affect our community, and foster enhanced trust, communication, transparency, and mutual respect.

Officers help foster a strong working relationship between the Department and the community it serves. Officers work with homeowner’s associations, community organizations, advocacy groups, public and private schools, faith-based organizations, and individual residents to promote partnerships that are mutually beneficial. 
These working partnerships allow the officers to develop pro-active crime fighting projects that are jointly undertaken by Department personnel and citizens.

If you have a concern affecting your area or would like more information regarding this unit, please contact Officer Stoney.

Officer Stoney can be reached via email at Rasean.Stoney@cobbcounty.org

Stay up to Date with Critical Information

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Cobb Department of Public Safety staff is working to enhance the delivery of near real-time information to residents about incidents that may have significant and/or imminent impacts on their safety or welfare. DPS has implemented the SwiftReach Swift911 notification system to distribute these types of alerts.

SwiftReach is a high-speed emergency notification system that alerts residents to emergency situations including severe weather, missing and endangered persons or significant road closures due to fatality accidents or other unplanned incidents in the local area. The program has the capability of delivering pre-recorded messages to the entire county via telephone, cell phone, email and text messaging. The system uses a publicly-available list of phone numbers that can be removed or updated by both residents and businesses.

There are two simple options to opt-in and provide contact information for this service. Sign up on for the service online. Residents can also get the Swift911 Mobile App by texting the word “Swift911” to “99538.” The response text will be a link for the Swift 911 app in the app store. SwiftReach is another example of using current technology to ensure residents receive vital information from the Department of Public Safety.

Police Athletic League

Cobb PAL focuses on juvenile crime prevention through athletic and recreational activities for Cobb County’s high-risk neighborhoods, primarily in South Cobb. There are many ways that you can help, whether it be spreading the word, getting your children involved, volunteering your time and resources or donating money. If you wish to assist this worthwhile program and make a donation, visit Ways to Help.

Cobb County Camera Registry

With the increased popularity of home security cameras, the use of these systems to help identify criminals has become an important tool for law enforcement. We have recently used a citizen’s images that they provided to make an arrest in several Entering Autos. In an effort to be able to obtain these videos in a timelier manner the Cobb County Police Department has implemented a Security Camera Registry.

The Cobb County Police Camera Registration program is a police/community video partnership that operates on a voluntary basis with homeowners, neighborhoods and business owners who own private video surveillance systems. We encourage both businesses and residents to register their cameras online by completing the form below.

This program is intended to let our officers know where cameras are active in the county in case a crime occurs. It is not intended for active surveillance, and officers will not have direct access to homeowners' cameras. Those who register a camera will be contacted if a crime occurs in the vicinity of that camera.

Information provided by residents and businesses will be maintained in a secure database.

Online Registration Form

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If you have any questions or concerns feel free to contact us.

 

Lieutenant C E Dong -   Precinct 3 Criminal Investigations Unit
Craig.dong@cobbcounty.org

Sergeant C S Sperrazza - Precinct 3 Criminal Investigations Unit (Day)
Christopher.sperezza@cobbcounty.org

Sergeant J M Holt - Precinct 3 Criminal Investigations Unit (Evenings)
Jeremy.Holt@cobbcounty.org