Crime & Safety

Weird Police Stories: Smell of Pot, Fake Cop and More Stupid Criminals

Strange crime news powered by the police reporting from Patch sites in northeast Georgia.

Click on the links to get details on each story 

1. No Job Rob

In an act that probably will not end up on his resume, a man robbed a Norcross-area car wash after the owner told him there weren’t any job openings.

Find out what's happening in Lilburn-Mountain Parkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

2. Pot Sniffing

It was a “whiff of raw marijuana” that prompted Snellville Police officers to sniff out a pot-growing operation recently. The odor was so strong, according to the police report, that officers followed the pot scent a half-mile to a house where 21 pot plants were found, including some that were 6-feet tall. The street value was $25,000.

Find out what's happening in Lilburn-Mountain Parkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

3. Trailer Park Pot

Gwinnett County cops have pretty powerful weed-detection abilities, too. A police officer reportedly smelled raw pot while on patrol in a trailer park. Inside one of the trailers, the officer found a large plastic bag with 10 smaller bags inside, all containing marijuana.

4. Lights Out

It’s usually the overlooked small details that get stupid criminals caught — like forgetting to turn the headlights on at 2 a.m. That’s when police in Athens stopped a Chevy Blazer leaving a business that had reported metal thefts in the past. , as was some marijuana. That might explain spacing out about the headlights.

5. SMH

A vandal used a different form of texting recently in the parking lot at the Mall of Georgia. A mall employee told Gwinnett County Police that when she reached her car after work, the words “Troll” and “LOL” were scratched into one of the doors. It’s probably safe to say the vandalism wasn’t committed by her BFF. 

6. Honor Thy Girlfriend

Defending the honor of a girlfriend is one thing, but trying to avoid embarrassment in front of her is another. A Buford teen, 19, who suffered a knife wound in an altercation, told police that he had a good reason for getting in the face of his assailant. He didn’t want to be "punked out in front of his girlfriend." He and his girl were out for walk when three men approached. One of them asked, “What are you doing in my neighborhood?” Things escalated and ended with one of the men pulling out a knife. Result: a severe laceration to the victim’s right hand.

7. Really? Really.

A Dacula man was arrested and accused of impersonating a police officer in a plot of revenge directed at a medical-clinic employee he believes prevented him from getting a prescription filled. The man, wearing a black T-shirt with “POLICE” on it, and driving a not-so-police-like Ford Mustang, presented a badge when he arrived at the clinic and started asking questions about the employee, a Buford woman. He apparently left flyers with her picture, name and “Have you seen this person?” printed on them.

That prompted a call to Gwinnett County Police. The rest of the story: The man was a patient at the clinic in August, was prescribed medication and later tried to get it filled in South Carolina. But because it was prescribed in Georgia, the South Carolina pharmacist refused to fill it. He blamed the woman he targeted.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.