An Atlanta man stole more than he planned when he swiped a BMW from a Cobb County QuikTrip, Smyrna police said Friday.

“Within the now stolen vehicle was said victim’s 9-month-old infant daughter, who was seated in the backseat of the vehicle,” an arrest warrant states.

Tellis Savalas Dewberry drove the gray 2017 BMW X1 away from the South Cobb Drive gas station June 25 around noon, according to police. But he made it less than a mile before abandoning the SUV and the baby.

But Dewberry left enough evidence behind for investigators to link him to the case, police said.

“Said accused’s fingerprints were located inside and outside said vehicle,” the warrant states.

An arrest warrant was issued this week for Dewberry, charging him with theft by taking and kidnapping. He was not yet in custody Friday afternoon, according to Cobb jail records. But his bond amount will be set at $50,000, his warrant states.

In a separate case, three Atlanta men were sentenced in September for stealing an SUV with a baby inside from the same gas station in 2016. They were sentenced to prison time for stealing the vehicle and leading police on a high-speed chase, prosecutors said.

About the Author

Keep Reading

Cox Enterprises CEO Alex Taylor and AJC Publisher Andrew Morse were joined by AJC editors and Atlanta business react during the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in Midtown on Friday, January 24, 2025.
(Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez

Featured

Austin Walters died from an overdose in 2021 after taking a Xanax pill laced with fentanyl, his father said. A new law named after Austin and aimed at preventing deaths from fentanyl has resulted in its first convictions in Georgia, prosecutors said. (Family photo)

Credit: Family photo