Three Armed Robberies Reported in Norcross Area in Last Week

Once on June 8 and twice on June 12, residents were robbed at gunpoint when going about their routines. No major injuries were reported in any of these cases but they do include reports of stolen money and property.

On June 8, Gwinnett Police were called to the Alderwood Apartments on Sunrise Village Lane in an unincorporated area of Norcross around 10 p.m. Filiberto Perez said he was talking on his phone in the front steps of his apartment building, when he was approached by a man who he recognized from the apartment complex.

The man with the gun told Perez to get on the ground and demanded his money, according to the police report, then patted him down, making off with about $100, a Motorola cell phone and his wallet. 

Perez described the man as having dark skin with shoulder length, braided hair in a black do-rag. He had a thin beard and mustache and a tattoo on his left arm that reached his elbow, according to Perez. 

On June 12, two separate armed robbery incidents occurred.  Police were sent to the Orion Apartments to the home of Adelfo Santiago. The man said he was walking up his stairs to return home for the night around 2 a.m. when he was pushed then hit in the face with a revolver. Santiago told the robbers he didn’t have any cash, and was again hit in the face with the gun.

The robbers took around $450 and the man’s phone, then ran through the apartment breezeway to escape, according to the report.

Santiago described one man as wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt that was pulled over his face. The other was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, also concealing his face. They were both described as tall with thin builds.

Sergio Gordona Avila, a Marietta resident, was leaving Club Escape at Jimmy Carter Boulevard and Rockbridge Road on the morning of June 12 around 2:45 a.m., according to police reports. He said he was approached by two men as he got in his car, which was parked in the back of the club.

Avila said the men shoved a pistol in his stomach and demanded his money. He handed over his wallet, which had about $1000 in cash in it.

His only description of the men was that they were Hispanic males.

Gwinnett Police Cpl. Jake Smith said that the incidents are likely not related since the descriptions of the suspects are different, but that he often sees an increase in robberies and burglaries around the summer months. “I would tend to attribute it more to being summer,” he said.  

It is unclear whether it’s the release of school or just more people being out and about, but he recommends that everyone be extra vigilant, especially when coming out of a restaurant or bar at night. “If you feel like something's wrong, don’t be afraid to call the police,” Smith said.