Atlanta

Restaurant customers' cars stolen from valet while dining

ATLANTA — An evening meal at an Atlanta restaurant took a turn when customers' cars were stolen, leaving a bad taste in their mouths.

Teresa Kilborn was dining at Agave in southeast Atlanta Tuesday night after leaving her car with the valet. When she finished eating, she discovered that her car had been stolen.

"I was pretty shocked," Kilborn said. "I had a great night and so when I walked out to the parking lot I laughed. I thought it was a joke. Then, I realized the car had been stolen as well."

Kilborn, however, was not alone.

Around that same time Tuesday night, another customer discovered his car had been stolen as well.

"For somebody to come and steal something, it's definitely a violation," the customer said.

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A police report showed that, at some point during the evening, the valet attendant dumped all of the car keys onto the hostess stand and left for reasons he did not explain. The attendant later told police he left the restaurant on a skateboard, not in a stolen car.

Atlanta police are calling him a suspect, but are still looking into whether others could be responsible.

The restaurant contracts the parking service to Prestige Valet.

Channel 2's Justin Wilfon called Prestige's owner, who told Wilfon that he was too busy to talk and to call back later.

Wilfon called back, but the owner still did not answer.

However, an Agave spokesperson provided the following statement.

"The valet in question has been let go," the spokesperson said. "Considering we have been open for 17 years, we feel fortunate to have had only two incidents with guest parking."

For Kilborn, that was two too many.

"I hope they find my car," Kilborn said. "That would be great."

Meanwhile, police found the other victim's car in College Park, and there were some items in that car that could be beneficial to the police investigation.