The Atlanta Police Department, grappling with a rash of vehicle break-ins and scooter thefts, has released videos that show at least two of the crimes being committed.
Since July 18, cops say five scooters have been stolen and one, hijacked. Thieves stole the scooters either from the driveways of homes or apartment parking lots.
Dozens of vehicles also have been broken into in Buckhead in recent weeks, including 16 vehicles in the predawn hours on Wednesday. On July 17, police reported at least 30 cars had been broken into overnight in Buckhead.
In one of the home surveillance videos released this week, two young men, one shirtless, can be seen walking up the driveway of a residence on Vaughn Street in Atlanta on July 21, while two others keep watch on the street.
The group apparently leaves at some point only to return later. Eventually, the shirtless man is seen riding down the driveway on a scooter while the others run from the residence along side him.
Eric Stedman, whose scooter was stolen from his loft complex La France Street on July 19, said Friday that the APD scooter video infuriated him.
Stedman said the day after his scooter was stolen, he and his wife saw the four youths in the APD video follow a United Parcel Service truck into his gated community.
He said he called 911 and as he and his wife waited for the police to arrive, they watched as the youths walked to the pool area of the complex and back toward the front.
“They were back there for a couple of minutes then came walking back out to the front,” Stedman told the AJC on Friday. “I watched them walk up to a scooter and touch it to see if it was locked up and then walk back to the gate.”
By the time an APD officer arrived, the youths were back on La France Street. Stedman the officer drove up to the youths and appeared to tell them to leave the area.
“I am 100 percent convinced it’s them,” Stedman said after watching the APD video of the theft on Vaughn Street, a short distance away. He said one of the youths near his home also had long hair and was shirtless as in the video.
Stedman said it was obvious to him the youths were "casing" his area and he wondered why the officer who responded to his call didn't do more. The APD seemed to agree.
“We understand the homeowner’s frustration and believe the situation could have been handled better,” said APD spokesman Carlos Campos told the AJC. “The Zone 6 commander is aware of this issue and has addressed it with the officer."
Campos added that police "continue to aggressively investigate these thefts and are hopeful that with the help of concerned citizens like this and the media we’ll be able to solve these crimes.”
Besides the scooters taken on La France and Vaughn streets, police said other scooter thefts occurred on Gilbert Street S.E. on July 18; E. Confederate Avenue S.E. on July 18; Virginia Avenue N.E. on July 23; and Parkway Drive N.E. on July 27, when a rider was forced off the bike before it was stolen.
In the second video, involving vehicle break-ins, three men can be seen exiting a Dodge Ram pickup truck after it pulls up in front of a residence on Jefferson Chase Circle S.E. on July 22. Two men enter an unlocked car, rifle through the inside and release the truck lid to search the trunk. Another man uses a flashlight to search another vehicle in the yard.
Eventually, a black Jeep Liberty slows down in front of the residence, and the men get into the Dodge Ram and drive away. Police believe individuals in the Jeep Liberty were part of the theft crew.
Police say the thieves struck a total of six locations on July 22, stealing from six separate vehicles.
Campos said the reward for information leading to the arrest and indictment of the thieves can be as much as $2,000.
“Videos are extremely successful in helping to identify criminals,” Campos said. “Typically, we see them from businesses, but occasionally you do have homeowners who do have their own surveillance systems.”
Police urge anyone with information about the scooter thefts to call Crime Stoppers Atlanta at 404-577-8477, or Atlanta police in Zone 6 at 404-371-5002 or Zone 5 at 404-658-6445.
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