Rise in number of apartment robberies persists

Rise in number of apartment robberies persists

The rise in the number of robberies or attempted robberies at apartment complexes in the county continues with two more crimes in the Belmont and Ettrick areas.

In an incident that happened around 9:30 p.m. on Sept. 1, a man had just gotten out of his vehicle in the 4200 block of Lamplighter Court at the Belmont Parkway Apartments when a man armed with a gun approached him and demanded his money. Saying he had no money, the victim took his wallet from his pocket. As the suspect snatched the wallet and removed some cash, the victim grabbed the suspect's gun. They struggled before the suspect hit the victim in the face and fired off one round from his gun. In the end, the victim was able to disarm the thief, who fled the scene with two other men who were with him and the stolen cash. The suspects were all described as African-Americans between the ages of 18-25.

In another incident, a pizza delivery driver arrived at a residence in the 20900 block of Riverterrace Road in the River Road Terrace Apartments to verify a $60 order. Two suspects came up behind him, one of them wielding a handgun. In this case, the victim was able to talk his way out of danger and safely left the area. Nothing was reported stolen. The suspects are both thin black males, 16-22 years old.

Anyone with information about these crimes should call police at 748-1251 or Crime Solvers at 748-0660, or text the code tip699 with the tip and send to 274637 (CRIMES).

In other crimes:

Bellson Park Drive. Between 6 p.m. on Aug. 22 and 8 a.m. on Aug. 25, someone took the catalytic converters from several vehicles parked at Extreme Towing in the 3900 block. Burnt Oak Drive. Sometime between 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 29 and 9 a.m. on Sept. 1, license plates were stolen from a car parked in the 4800 block at the Ivywalk Apartments.

Church Road. Sometime between 8 p.m. on Aug. 26 and 7 p.m. on Sept. 10, someone pried open a window of the Union Grove Baptist Church in the 19100 block, damaging it in the process. Several areas inside the church were broken into, and several items were stolen.

Elmwood Lane. Between 4 p.m. on Aug. 1 and 4 p.m. on Aug. 22, someone stole a gocart from the backyard of a residence in the 11700 block.

Gregory Drive. Between 3 p.m. on Aug. 25 and 11 a.m. on Aug. 30, someone broke into the pool snack bar at Falling Creek Farms Recreational Association in the 9100 block and stole money.

Jefferson Davis Highway. Between 2:30 a.m. and 7 a.m. on Aug. 28, someone broke glass out of a rear door of Falling Creek Coin Laundry in the 6200 block with a landscaping stone. Once inside, the suspect used the stone to damage a coin machine and steal the money from it.

Jessup Road. At about 1:10 p.m. on Aug. 30, a woman sitting in the living room of her home in the 5500 block was surprised when two men she didn't know walked through her front door. The woman ran to another room, then returned to her living room and told the men to leave. Once they did, the woman noticed some cash was missing.

Compiled by Gwen Sadler