Related article: Protecting the public from LE impersonators
By Andria Simmons
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
GWINNETT, Ga. — Gwinnett police are investigating nine armed robberies in which the suspects claimed to be police officers. The robberies targeted Hispanics.
It is not yet known how many, if any, of the robberies were committed by the same people, said Cpl. Illana Spellman, spokeswoman for the Gwinnett County Police Department.
“There are some differences as well as some similarities, and we’re just working on trying to establish some sort of pattern,” Spellman said.
In one of the incidents, men posing as police forced their way into an apartment on Noble Forest Drive in Norcross last month and shot and wounded a 13-year-old girl. Two men --- Larico Daniel, 27, and Mario Taylor, 21 --- have been arrested in that case, Spellman said.
There are some common threads among the nine robberies.
In each incident, two or more offenders were armed with handguns or rifles when they ransacked residences and demanded money or drugs, Spellman said. The department’s Crime Analysis Unit is working with investigators to establish other potential patterns.
In the meantime, police are warning the public about impersonators to help deter further incidents. Real police officers rarely wear hats or shirts printed with just the generic word “police,” Spellman said. Those articles of clothing can be purchased in many stores.
Civilians should look instead for the full name of the police agency or department on officers’ clothing and badges, such as Gwinnett County Police Department, she said.
Police do use unmarked vehicles and wear plain clothes at times, but “usually we’re going to announce ourselves and allow someone to come to the door before we’re going to breach a doorway,” Spellman said.
Spellman said investigators don’t know whether the nine robberies are connected to a July 1 kidnapping in Sandy Springs that is still under investigation. She acknowledged “that’s always a possibility.”
In that incident, David Juan Arce-Flores, 34, was abducted from his apartment by six men dressed entirely in black with the word “police” printed on their shirts. The men also wore gun belts with holsters, according to a Sandy Springs police report.
The kidnapping culminated Monday when Sandy Springs police requested the help of Gwinnett officers in staking out a predetermined ransom drop-off spot at a Waffle House parking lot on Pleasant Hill Road at Cruse Road in Gwinnett. When SWAT officers confronted the alleged kidnappers, one of the suspects, 23-year-old Richard Garcia, reportedly “made an aggressive movement toward his weapon,” Spellman said.
The officers opened fire on Garcia and killed him, Spellman said. The shooting is still under investigation.
A second suspect, Jose Ramirez-Perez, was arrested and charged with false imprisonment.
An officer patrolling the area several hours later found Arce-Flores unharmed, walking along U.S. 29 in Lawrenceville.
Copyright 2008 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution