Blotter: Men Damage Woman's Car After Offering to Fix It in Parking Lot

Criminal Damage to Property

On March 28 a woman told police that she was at Kroger at 10945 State Bridge Road when she was approached by a man soliciting auto body work who then damaged her vehicle.

According to the police report, the woman attempted to back her vehicle from its parking space when a dark green, early-to-mid-2009s Honda Pilot blocked her way. A Hispanic man in his early 30s, around 5'10" and 200 pounds, got out of the Pilot and approached her claiming to work for "Alpharetta Toyota." He offered her a quote to fix some minor, pre-existing damage to the front of her vehicle.

The woman told the man she would be interested in a quote. According to the report, the man, along with a second Hispanic man and several children, immediately approached her car with spray bottles and sand paper. The woman told police she objected, but the men began to spray chemicals on the car and one of the men began using sandpaper. The men stopped after a disagreement, backed away from the woman's vehicle and allowed her to leave.

The woman told police she never agreed to any work and had only expressed interest in getting a quote. The police officer inspected the vehicle and noted a large portion of the front right fender and bumper had the top layer of paint removed and a significant amount of sanding marks.

The officer was able to view low-resolution security video footage of the incident and could see the Honda approach the victim's car, a number of people exit the Honda and a short while later get back in and drive away.

Criminal Trespass

On March 27 an employee at Childtime Preschool at 5075 Abbotts Bridge Road told police that when she arrived at work she found the front door glass pushed inward and the door handle release broken. She told police that no entry was made into the building because the second entry door was not tampered with. Police officers went into the building and did not find anyone inside.

On March 27 the HOA president of the Gates subdivision told police that the pool area had been vandalized between March 22 and 27. He said that wooden slits were torn off the doors to the restrooms and utility room, bricks were torn off pillars and a metal chair had been broken in half. On March 23 a police officer had responded to trespassers being in the pool area, but that were gone before police arrived. The officers said that had not noticed any damage at the time, but had been unable to get into the pool area because they did not have the gate code. The HOA president told police that the code to the pool gate had been changed twice during the winter, and that he believed the suspects climbed the fence.

On March 27 victims told police that their vehicles on Virginia Pine Lane had been shot with paint balls. The officer also noted white powder on the vehicles, possibly flour or baby powder. One of the victims told police that he attends Independence High School, but previously attended Centennial and believes his vehicle was targeted to the "Junior/Senior War," which had started early this year to catch police off guard.