ATLANTA — A Georgia State student says a thief stole her SUV from a valet, then used it to go on a crime spree across metro Atlanta.
Channel 2's Michael Seiden learned the suspect is the older brother of two men whose crimes ranged from theft to murder before they were locked up.
Atlanta police say Charles McDaniel crashed the GSU student’s SUV while trying to get away from officers near Metropolitan Parkway and Fair Drive in southwest Atlanta.
Multiple sources close to the investigation told Seiden that McDaniel is a notorious gang member who has been in and out of jail for various crimes.
“I knew that something was going on, but then I found out today that it was totaled,” the student, who asked not to be identified, said.
Police said McDaniel stole her Audi last weekend from a valet in Buckhead.
“Apparently the gentleman came and stole multiple sets of keys from the valet box,” the student said. “Mine was there so he just jumped in it and left.”
Atlanta police say McDaniel drove the stolen car around metro Atlanta for the next week, committing several violent crimes, including an aggravated assault with a firearm in the city of South Fulton.
It's there that police say McDaniel and a group of suspects stole a BMW SUV.
From there, police say he and the other suspects drove to southwest Atlanta, where officers spotted the stolen vehicles near Cleveland Avenue and Metropolitan Parkway.
The BMW got away, but McDaniel eventually crashed the Audi into another vehicle, injuring two other drivers.
Investigators believe they'll make a full recovery.
"I’m just in a state of shock,” the student said.
Seiden looked into McDaniel’s criminal history and found several arrests in Fulton and Cobb counties.
Court records in Fulton County show police arrested him in April on multiple felony charges. A month before that arrest, McDaniel pleaded guilty in Cobb County to theft by receiving stolen property and obstruction of an officer.
It was all part of a plea deal that kept him out of prison.