Roots in Alpharetta

I’m not a police detective, but I do play one in the blogosphere. So this article on the ajc.com caught my eye this afternoon. Let me set the stage a little.

Dateline: Roswell, GA. It is middle of the afternoon in a quiet neighborhood. The lady of the house arrives to find a man taking a shower. She strikes up a conversation with the man while he’s in the act. It seems that the man is not her husband or otherwise an acquaintance, although the AJC article isn’t real clear on this point. I’m thinking that isn’t the case because shortly thereafter Roswell SWAT arrives on the scene.

So it is safe to say this isn’t your ordinary shower. But wait, it gets better. The cops eventually get the man out of the house. He identifies himself only as The Duke of Germany. I know what you’re thinking… royalty, right here in Roswell!

So Herr Duke is arrested and taken to the north Fulton jail. Yet in a bit of brilliant journalism, the AJC ends the short article by saying “The motive is unclear, and the man has yet to be identified.” Um, hello? He’s the Duke of Germany and he needed a bath. This guy walks on diplomatic immunity.

Just when I get done talking about how there is almost no violent crime in the northern burbs… Several Atlanta news sources are reporting of a home invasion and kidnapping this morning in Johns Creek. The details are sketchy at this point. It sounds like at least five perps entered a home in the Glen Colony neighborhood. They tied up the family and kidnapped the father. He was later found in Dunwoody. WSB is reporting that they were looking for specific items in the house.

I’m not a detective or journalist. What I’m about to say is complete speculation. This sounds very similar to a violent home invasion last year in Roswell. In that case, the man they were after was the owner of a pawn shop. My speculation on this case is that this kidnapped man was a business owner of some kind. The criminals probably got wind that he was in possession of something valuable, something that perhaps he would not have for long. It might have been cash, but who knows. But they had specific information. They probably didn’t plan to kidnap the man, but I’m guessing that whatever they were looking for wasn’t in the home, and thus the trek to Dekalb county.

Again, just speculation. We’ll have to see the details as they emerge.

We live in an affluent burb. As I’ve talked about before, just about everyone out here earns a bunch of money. Many flaunt their wealth with fancy cars, jewelry and toys. Yet even with all that, I think you’ve got to be careful with how you broadcast your wealth. Be guarded in what you tell people. Did you inherit some valuable piece of jewelry recently? Are you moving your coin collection from one bank’s safe box to another? Do you have a large cash deposit to make after the weekend is over? Don’t go blabbin’ about this stuff! Loose lips sink ships, and they can get your stuff robbed! While you may trust your friends, they could tell others, who tell others. The next thing you know, half a dozen thugs are in your home at 7:00am on a Saturday wrapping duct tape around your wife’s arms.

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