Public Safety Reports

By Melanie Ruberti mruberti@civitasmedia.com

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A man was in stable condition this morning at Atlanta Medical Center after accidentally shooting himself in the chest while cleaning one of his guns.

The man told LaGrange police officers he was cleaning an Amadero Rossi S.A. .38 Special revolver on the patio of his home in the 100 block of Alton Drive. He said he thought it was unloaded and began wiping it down when he dropped it, which he believed caused the hammer of the gun to cock back. The victim told officers he began cleaning it again and that is when the gun fired and struck him in the upper chest.

According to police, the bullet exited his back.

The victim admitted to police he drank seven beers, but when officers spoke with him they said he did not seem impaired.

The victim’s wife drove him to West Georgia Medical Center around 12:30 this morning.

Police took custody of the revolver.

Man passes out, arrested for drugs

One man’s beauty sleep in the drive through of a Taco Bell earned him a one-way ticket to jail after responding officers also allegedly found drugs, a gun and a large amount of money on him.

The man was found asleep in his car around 3:30 Saturday morning in the drive through lane of Taco Bell on New Franklin Road. When a LaGrange Police Department officer arrived, he reported that the car was in park with its driver’s side door open and the engine still running. The driver had his head laying back on the head rest, sound asleep, according to the officer.

As the officer was trying to wake the man, he said he smelled marijuana and noticed the barrel of a gun between the man’s hip and seat. The officer was able to safely remove the loaded weapon before trying to wake the man again. As he did, the officer said a small bag with a green, leafy substance fell out of the man’s left pocket.

The officer said he waited until the man was fully awake, then placed him in handcuffs and searched him and the vehicle. LPD officers also found at least $3,750 in cash in the man’s pockets and in the trunk of his car.

The man was arrested and charged with possession of marijuana and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime.

Suspect flees from police

A man decided to outrun police officers and left his suspected stash of drugs behind.

An LPD officer spotted the man, whom he said he was familiar with, around 1 a.m. Monday standing at the end of a driveway in the 200 block of Mimosa Terrace on a bicycle. The officer said he noticed there were several items on the ground beside the man as well.

According to the report, as soon as the officer stopped his patrol car, the suspect took off on foot into a wooded area behind Mimosa Terrace. The officer chased him, but lost sight of the man.

Other LPD officers set up a perimeter and a K9 unit was brought in to try and locate the suspect with no luck.

The officer located a cylinder key chain next to the man’s bicycle that contained two plastic wrappers with a substance he said was consistent with methamphetamine.

A warrant was issued for the man’s arrest. According to the officer, the suspect will be charged with possession of methamphetamine and obstruction.

Shoplifting and crash

An alleged shoplifter tried to get make a clean getaway from the Home Depot on Lafayette Parkway, but instead ended up crashing his car on Interstate 85.

LaGrange police responded to the store Friday around 12:30 p.m., where the manager gave a description of the suspect and the car he allegedly was driving — a white Mercedes Benz — and a partial tag.

The manager then showed the officer security footage of the suspect taking three nail guns valued at $1,287 off a store shelf and try to return them at the register. When the return was denied, the suspect then left the store with the merchandise. According to the manager, when he tried to confront the alleged thief, the suspect left a cart containing the nail guns, jumped in the Mercedes and drove off.

Later, LPD officers learned that same car was in a collision on I-85 southbound and left the scene. The driver was stopped by Auburn, Alabama, police and allegedly admitted to being at the Home Depot in LaGrange, but stated he did not take anything.

Auburn police cited the man for a traffic violation and released him.

LPD issued a warrant for his arrest for shoplifting.