Got him

Police have arrested the fourth suspect in the murders of DeKalb Police Officers Ricky Bryant, Jr., and Eric Parker. Story here.

'Good Muslim, bad Muslim' act yields clues

Two Georgia boys, one a DeKalb County detective, the other an aspiring terrorist. Both Muslims, and both involved in one of the most fascinating post 9/11 crime dramas I've heard of yet. It's a glimpse into the kind of innovative, vigilant, and difficult, work coming out of local, state and federal squad rooms in our fight against radical Islamists aiming to sow terror in America.

The AJC had a great piece today about the wanna-be jihadist from Dawsonville who planned to capture and behead the Canadian prime minister before authorities caught wind of the plan.

Nut graf:

The transcripts of those secretly recorded conversations reveal that Sediqi and Richards assumed good cop, bad cop roles. Sediqi took it further, playing good Muslim, bad Muslim with Ahmed.

Sediqi handled the language of Islam like a sieve, sifting through all that was good about Ahmed's religious experience — "It's hard especially in American society to keep up what you do," he told him — in search of the bad.

The FBI suspected Ahmed and a Roswell man, Ehsanul Islam "Shifa" Sadequee, of providing material support to militant groups.

But there are also legal and ethical questions being raised, especially by the defense, about whether police treaded off-piste in their deliberations with Ahmed. If this is the alternative to torture, I'll take it any day.

(PIX: Syed Ahmed.)

Will justice redeem fallen heroes?

Let's keep the families of Dekalb Police Officers Eric Barker and Ricky Bryant, Jr., in our prayers as law enforcement hunts down the last suspect in their murders. Story here.

Key graf:

Bolton said those involved in the crime "can't hide on this one. You might as well give up."

He wouldn't comment on what led investigators to Johnson, saying, "one mis-step by me on information that's not accurate could determine whether these people get the death penalty or not."

Roaches, rats and criminals: Cities tackle motels

Charlotte, N.C., is targeting the HQ of the criminal establishment: the seedy motel.

Key quote:

From 2005 to 2006, the Police Department spent 157 total hours investigating crimes at the 150-room hotel, where at least 30 people lived among rats and roaches in filthy rooms.

(Link here.)

The jeweler's son

The kidnapping of a Lilburn family by jewelry-thieves (link here) sounds a lot like the movie, "The Ref," remember, when Denis Leary holds a quibbling couple hostage. (I only make a joke because no one got hurt in this incident.)

The critical piece of info in the story is that the victims were jewelers themselves, a fact likely known by the intruders. Being a jeweler, however, is not quite as dangerous as working late night in a convenience store (link here).

Burglar bar follies

The perception of our fair corner of the city sometimes leaves a lot to be desired. I stumbled on an exchange on city-data.com from this summer where a potential buyer proclaimed he's likely to put burglar bars on anything he buys in Kirkwood, et al.

This reply from a local gets it about right:

"... Living in Kirkwood, my feeling is that most of the crimes are burglaries of construction sites, unoccupied homes, and garden sheds. I don't think there are any streets to avoid necessarily. I would say the northeast quadrant (north of Hosea Williams and east of Warren) probably experiences less crime, but that is a VERY rough approximation. Plenty of nice streets outside of this area. There are some well-known drug houses that it would be best to stay away from and a few bad apartment complexes. When you visit properties evaluate the street just like you would the house. I do not think you need burglar bars, and I am sure your neighbors would rather you not install them (quite an eyesore!). An alarm is always a good idea, as is a dog. And just get to know your neighbors. I know there are a couple of guys are our street that have lived there forever and keep an eye on our house (in a good way, that sentence could be read wrong). There is a safety thread on the Kirkwood Neighborhood Organization webpage (Kirkwood Neighbors' Organization (KNO) :: Kirkwood Neighborhood, Atlanta, GA, you can request a password when you go to the page). You can get a good sense of crime in the neighborhood from that, plus KNO posts the monthly beat reports from our police zone there (note that it covers an area far larger than Kirkwood)."

Despite the recent rise in burglaries, burglar bars are still a bad, bad idea. They send a stronger message to potential buyers than they do to criminals.

Burglaries up 16 percent in Zone 6

Crime is up nationally. Things are no different in Atlanta PD's Zone 6, headquartered in Kirkwood and headed up by Maj. Renee Propes (left). According to Atlanta police statistics, aggravated assault and robberies are both up 9 percent, and burglaries are up a whopping 16 percent! So if you think you're hearing about a lot of busted car windows, stolen flat-screens and stripped cars, well, you're right. But though Maj. Propes' chief duty is crime reduction, the fact is that it's residents, not the cops, who have the real power to reduce crime. Let's use common sense, be watchful without being paranoid, and get each other's backs. The more we talk about it, the better prepared we are.

Atlanta's finest -- live!

Police scanners aren't just for old fogeys sitting around with stuff rotting in their refrigerators. They've been updated for the web age.

If you're interested in criminal follies and traffic mayhem, and who isn't, check out either the Atlanta police scanner or Dekalb scanner while you're bored at work. Who needs cop shows with the drama right outside!