A robbery suspect is in jail after a quick-thinking, hatchet-wielding neighbor heard something strange and took action on Thursday.
Eric Sharpe said he thought the alarm he heard was coming from somewhere far away when the sound first echoed into his house. But when he checked outside he realized it was coming from his neighbor’s home on Carter Avenue.
“It ended up being a young man who was not delivering a T.V. but taking a T.V. out of the house,” he said.
Right away, he brought his dog inside and called Atlanta police. But he didn’t stop there.
“Right after I called 911, I grabbed my hatchet and went outside to try to figure out where this kid had driven off to,” he said.
Armed and searching, Sharpe said he fully intended to put the small ax into the windshield or tire of the escaping car to keep it from getting away. Unfortunately for him, and perhaps fortunately for the robber, the car had already taken off.
Sharpe had actually had an encounter 45 minutes before the burglary that left him suspicious. The neighborhood had already dealt with thefts in the area and shared warnings on social media sites like NextDoor and Facebook. So, his immediate concern was that the person who knocked at his door may be casing locations.
“This young man, another young man, came to my house and was trying to find out whether I was home and his first reaction was kind of surprised because he didn’t see any cars in the driveway but I was definitely home,” Sharpe said. “And he started making up some story about how he thought so-in-so was living here.”
The problem with that: Sharpe had been living at the location for about 2 years.
Sharpe was soon able to contact his neighbor to let her know about the robbery and it may have seemed like the story for the day had ended. But that wasn’t the case.
With Sharpe’s description of the suspect and getaway vehicle, authorities managed to track down the alleged suspect only a couple of miles away on Lakeview where he was apparently hitting another house.
The suspect fled but didn’t get too far. The driver ended up wrecking the vehicle in a parking lot on Hosea L. Williams before running for Howard Street. He was apprehended soon after.
In the car were the items listed as stolen from the victim’s home along with some marijuana, a knife and a 9mm pistol. Sharpe later positively identified the suspect.
“So, this guy was armed and definitely armed and ready to do something stupid,” he said.
Sharpe is being lauded for his quick actions but said that it’s all about the neighborhood working together.
“Honestly, it’s a team effort; it has to come down to your neighbors being smart and really the police force,” he said. “They did an incredible job yesterday and it all goes to them. The police really came through and nailed this guy.”
Police have withheld the name of the suspect because he is a juvenile. The report only states that he is a black male born in 2001.
