Police investigating 10 car thefts at Atlanta airport; 3 linked to single suspect

Police in Atlanta are looking for the man who allegedly stole multiple trucks from the airport.

Credit: Atlanta Police Department

Credit: Atlanta Police Department

Police in Atlanta are looking for the man who allegedly stole multiple trucks from the airport.

Police in Atlanta are looking for a man they say stole multiple vehicles from Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

The man, shown in surveillance footage released by police, allegedly stole three trucks from the airport within five months.

Officials said the man stole older-model Chevrolet pickups from the south and north parking lots. The thefts happened March 27, May 21 and Sept. 3, police said.

Alec Nations, one of the victims, told Channel 2 Action News when he returned home from a business trip April 9 his Chevrolet was nowhere to be found.

“At first I was like, ‘Maybe I didn’t park it here. I know I parked at the end of this front row,’” he told the news station.

Nations said he called airport security to report that his truck had been taken.

“They were like, ‘No. You’re confused. You don’t know where you parked,’” he said.

Surveillance footage showed the vehicle leaving the airport days before Nations returned from his trip.

When Atlanta police arrived, investigators realized Nations still had his ticket for the parking deck in his wallet, according to an incident report obtained by AJC.com.

“Therefore, the Park-Atl Operator let the vehicle exit without a ticket,” the incident report said. “But according to the paperwork, the vehicle had a ticket.”

Nations said police told him his vehicle was the third stolen from the airport that month. It is one of 10 reported at the airport in 2019, Channel 2 reported.

More than a month later on May 22, Bradley Beranek reported his Chevrolet Silverado stolen from the north parking lot, according to an incident report.

“I just couldn’t believe that would happen at the airport,” he told Channel 2.

On Sept. 5, Dean Herdt reported his Chevrolet pickup truck stolen from the south lot. Herdt told police he had parked the vehicle in the lot two days prior, according to an incident report.

An airport employee pulled surveillance footage that showed the truck being driven out of the lot that same day, the report said.

Police urge anyone with information about the suspect’s identity or whereabouts to come forward.

Tipsters can remain anonymous, and be eligible for rewards of up to $2,000, by contacting Crime Stoppers Atlanta at 404-577-8477, texting information to 274637 or visiting the Crime Stoppers website.

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