MPSA: Midtown Community Menace Apprehended

Editor's note: The following information was posted during the first week of the new year by the Midtown Ponce Security Alliance (MPSA) on its website and appears here courtesy of the MPSA. The MPSA has served the Midtown community since 2003 as a non-profit organization by coordinating neighborhood response to public safety and security issues in order to advance the Midtown way of life. The MPSA achieves this objective primarily by operating a neighborhood security patrol funded by its resident and business members, and community sponsors. See here for more information about becoming a member of the MPSA. The MPSA coverage area includes:

• From Juniper Street to the defunct railroad track just east of Monroe Drive and Home Depot
• From Ponce de Leon Avenue to 10th Street.
• Highlighted in green on the map
• All of Kennesaw Avenue, Penn Avenue, Myrtle Street, are in the service area, along with Glen Iris Drive down to but not including North Avenue

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Robbery Suspect With Significant History Apprehended

On 12/27 police units were dispatched to the 300 block of Piedmont in response to an armed robbery call, and promptly met with the two victims in the incident. According to the police report, the victims opened the door to their apartment without checking to see who was knocking. Upon opening the door, the suspect barged into the apartment with a gun. In the process the suspect also robbed the victims of an iPhone and a MacBook Pro laptop.

The victim had a tracking app on his iPhone, and the police were able to track it in the area of Renaissance Parkway. Police canvassing the area quickly located a suspicious person who attempted to flee upon seeing officers. They found that the suspect had in his possession the MacBook Pro laptop and the iPhone, but were unable to recover a handgun that would have been used in the robbery. Police brought the victims to the scene of the arrest, and they positively identified the suspect as the one who homejacked them.

Atlanta police immediately booked Antwan Creighton into the Fulton County jail on charges armed robbery, burglary, obstruction, and carrying a weapon during the commission of a crime. The victims recovered the items taken during the home invasion.

In our research we discovered that Creighton has very siginificant criminal history. He served 15 years in the Florida prison system for a rash of robberies in the Miami area. He was released last February from prison, and noticed that he was in close supervision until he maxed out (signifying a dangerously problematic inmate). Since his release, he has been booked into the Fulton County jail three times. We find it disturbing that, despite his criminal history, Fulton County judges continue to release him back into the community. This violent and dangerous person has no business being allowed on the streets of any community.

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Community Menace: Mathew Todd Corley

On 12/31 Police were dispatched to the 800 block of Peachtree Street in response to an attempted robbery call. Upon arrival the (female) victim reported that a white male walked up to her and spit in her face, and in a very menacing manner. When she pulled out her cell phone to call for help, the subject grabbed her and tried to wrest the cell phone from her. A tussle ensued, but she was able to fend him off. As the subject walked away he cursed and threatened the victim. Police units canvassing the area intercepted the subject at 10th & Piedmont and brought him back to the incident location, where the victim positively identified the accused.

31-year-old Mathew Todd Corley was arrested on charges of Battery, Attempted Robbery, and Criminal Damage. Our research shows extensive arrest and criminal history for assault. In a 2007 DeKalb County case, he was ordered to undergo a 12-week anger management program. His history clearly reflects a continuing menace to the community. Since then he has continued to engage in violent criminal offenses in multiple jurisdictions including Fulton County. Given that his profile bears resemblance to the Ricky Love case, another violent individual who for years attacked and terrorized people in the Midtown community, we have designated him as a high-priority court watch case. He remains in the Fulton County jail as of this writing, and is ineligible for bond according to online records.

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Patrol Highlights – December 2012

December was a slow month for us. It is quite routine for us to cut back patrol coverage in December for budgetary reasons, and luckily patrol needs reduce with cold weather. The bulk of our renewals have traditionally been in the Spring, and the warmer weather intensifies patrol needs. Sgt. Bill Cooper was the only officer patrolling during the closing month of the year.

Highlights from Sgt. Cooper’s patrol log:

Sgt Cooper spoke to the new owner of the vacant house regarding recurring problems with his newly-acquired property. The owner boarded up the house soon afterwards, and plans to redevelop the property.

A severe water leak was discovered at a house on Mentelle, where the owner was out of town. With the help of a neighbor, the water was shut off.

Five juveniles were served with criminal trespass warnings at a member business.

As a routine measure, Sgt. Cooper met with certain property owners about renting to tenants with criminal patterns. A couple of grateful property owners have moved forward with evicting criminally-inclined tenants that have been on our radar for quite some time. Problem tenants is one area where we have made tremendous progress over the years, but we still monitor the parole database and the sex offender registry.

Also during the month Sgt. Cooper secured several package deliveries. We also conducted a fair number of out-of-town visits, though we imagined more members would take advantage of this.

Below is the patrol summary for 2012: