Crime Watch Update
March 20, 2008
Master Deputy Sheriff Amanda Lee
Richland County Sheriff’s Department
Community Action Team (C.A.T.)
5623 Two Notch Road
Columbia, SC 29223
(803)576-3000
www.rcsd.net
Hello Everyone!
Please pass this important information to your residents within your communities, friends and family. Yesterday we had some burglaries that occurred in the daytime by three black males driving a green mini van.
They were seen breaking into a home inside the Waterfalls off of Broad River Road and near the Peak exit. They were seen walking around the home, then punch a window out to gain access into the home. Once inside, they just opened up the garage door, backed their Mini Van up to the home and started to load items up into their Mini Van.
The areas that these Burglaries have taken place:
Waterfalls
Rolling Creek
Julius Richardson
(all within the same area. Please be aware they probably know that the police know by now, and they might move their crimes to another area outbound. SO EVERYONE BE ON THE LOOK OUT!)
Again, these are happening during the day. Those of you who stay at home in the afternoons, please be aware of what is going on inside the community. If you notice anything out of the ordinary, like a garage door open while your neighbors are at work, someone walking around “casing” a property, or a vehicle driving slowly through the community please do not hesitate and call 911 right away. If you see these or other suspects breaking into a home or committing another crime, PLEASE TELL DISPATCH THAT THIS CRIME IS IN PROGRESS!
If you can, gather information like a Tag for the vehicle, clothing description, what they are doing, the exact address of where the crime is occurring, vehicle description, and if they leave, what direction did you see them go.
Thank you so much for helping us in stopping these criminals! Again, please pass this to your communities right away. It is important to get these burglars off the street and show them that the Outbound area is not going to tolerate this kind of criminal activity.
Last week we also had:
One Grand Larceny (something stolen over $1,000) from the harbison area off Harbison Blvd.
One Attempted Burglary in the Raintree Subdivision. The suspect in that case was arrested by Richland County Sheriff’s that afternoon at the scene.
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Comment to article on crime above. We are the ones that were robbed on Julius Richardson Rd on March 19th and we were also robbed back on January 8th of this year. That’s twice in just a few months. I emailed you about the traffic problems on Julius Richardson Rd months ago and you forwarded it to the dept of transportation. I have still not gotten a response from anyone other than you that you forwarded my complaint. We need to shut down access to Julius Richardson Rd from the I-26 Peak exit ramp. The Richaland CO officers feel that if that ramp access was shut down, we would have less visability and less crime.
Please help us, we do not feel safe in our rural community anymore. What can we do? Amanda Lee is coming to a neighborhood meeting April 1st to discuss crime prevention and awareness with us. We will do what ever it takes to try to protect our homes. We need your help too.
Beth and Dave Berlin
803-749-0197
The Friarsgate subdivision area has had many, many car break -ins over the past year. They’ve broken into the cars by breaking the window. We have learned that the car can be sitting in your driveway and you won’t hear a sound as safety glass doesn’t shatter and make noise. The thieves have stolen laptops, GPS devices and DVD players. From what I understand, the thieves know what they’re doing as it takes a special tool to get the DVD screens out and they have been totally successful in obtaining many in the neighborhood!
If a neighborhood dog is barking, go investigate and turn on as many outside lights as you can! We have motion sensor lights in our driveway but that didn’t stop them. It’s going to take neighbors watching out for neighbors. Be alert and know your neighbors phone numbers.
As much as it would be an inconvenience of sorts for those of us who utilize Julius Richardson Rd for access to I-26, it probably wouldn’t be a bad idea to block access to and from the ramps. I’ve noted a profound increase in traffic on the ramp over the last two years because of the unrestricted development in the Dutch Fork area. It’s become quite dangerous. Most people don’t expect an intersection on an off ramp.
The only issue I see is that a traffic signal would need to be placed at the intersection of West Shady Grove and Broad River Rd. That’s really a bad intersection and it would be worse with the additional traffic. Those who are developing should shoulder the responsibility for the new light.