ATLANTA — Police are investigating after three luxury cars were stolen from a restaurant valet Wednesday night.
Investigators told Channel 2 Action News that officers responded to the 200 block of Pharr Road just before 11 p.m. for a report of stolen vehicles.
The man working as a valet told officers that he had stepped away from the stand for a moment and later noticed three cars leaving the parking lot “at a high rate of speed.”
After checking the key stand, the man figured out that three cars had been stolen. Police identified the stolen vehicles as a 2015 Range Rover, a 2017 Mercedes and a 2015 Mercedes.
In the first 2 1/2 weeks of 2019, police said thieves have stolen six cars from valets citywide. It's all part of a trend that police told Channel 2 Action News they need help cracking down on.
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An Atlanta police spokesperson told Channel 2's Matt Johnson the department's concern is also with stolen cars constantly being used in other crimes.
Johnson asked what's being done to address the issue.
Officials said a police commander met with 40 restaurants, hotels and businesses who use valets to tell them employees need to not let their guard down.
“We can't have nobody stationed at those keyboxes every day. We need cooperation from the valets to make sure those keys are secure,” the police spokesperson said.
Just along a quarter-mile stretch of Pharr Road, police data shows thieves have broken into 13 cars and they've stolen eight cars total since December.