Clairmont Heights Civic Association

From the Emory Grove neighborhood, which centers on Princeton Way and Westminster Way off North Decatur Road west of Clairmont: "April 28, 2010: DeKalb County Gang Task Force .... contacts at the police department ... have indicated that they have concern that there is “gang” activity in and around our neighborhood specifically related to the buying and selling of drugs in and around our parks.  These concerns are based on reports from our neighborhood and from other information that the police dept has.  We now have contact information for Sergeant Lyda who is in charge of the Dekalb County Gang Task Force.  ... Sergeant Lyda asked that if at any time you see a group of kids that seem suspicious (i.e., smoking pot, putting graffiti on our pavilion, etc), please call his cell phone:  404 925 5321.

April 30, 2010:  Dear neighbors, [We] happened to be across the street (at the bookstore) from McDonald's this afternoon, when all hell broke
loose.  Three police cars began to chase a car down N. Decatur Rd. toward Emory. Being retired, this was the high point of my day, so I followed in the direction of the chase by car and then on foot.  As it turned out, four Druid Hill's High School students [had] sped away from the police at McDonald's in a stolen car, turned right onto Haygood, and then right at the road just past Druid Hill's High, in the direction of the Emory bridge leading into the Lullwater Estate.  The stolen car crashed into the Emory gate, whereupon the driver fled into the woods of the Lullwater Estate.  The police captured the rest immediately. There were minor injuries (the driver had a cut on the head, and a police officer had skinned knees).  There must have been 12-15 police cars.  Some of the cars chased the driver across the bridge and into the woods, but a policewoman on a bike captured him. Druid Hills Security officers said they all were Druid High students, but one might be a former student.  One had been told just this morning to get back to class.

Later, we spotted our Sgt. Charly Lyda .... He told us that the four students were "Blood" gang members.  He was on the scene and took pictures of their notebooks (with Blood notations), tattoos, and other evidence of being in the gang.  He told us that Blood gang members wear bandanas, dress fairly nicely (compared to other students), and wear red (such as shirts or shoes, or both). ...  Sgt. Lyda said that there have been seven arrests this week. Sgt. Lyda also said that the four students were about 16 or 17 years old. ....

[April 30, 2010] Follow-up:  ....  Yesterday, the undercover police officers were indicating to Sgt. Lyda that they were doubtful that they would
catch any gang members or criminals in our neighborhood.  However, much to their surprise, they identified some suspicious characters in the park yesterday and ended up chasing them and arresting them.  It turns out that these 2 individuals were on Dekalb County’s most wanted list for a string of armed robberies in the Candler Road area.  They were apprehended in our neighborhood for selling drugs.   These individuals (if convicted) are likely to serve 10-15 years in prison. Those two arrests coupled with the arrest of the 5 individuals arrested today (described in the [previous] posting) make this the most successful operation that Sgt. Lyda’s task force has had this year.

Sgt. Lyda asked that we all remain vigilant and mentioned ... that  their most successful operations occur [when] the community and the police officers work together." [Citizen names withheld on request.]