DOUGLAS COUNTY, Ga. — Dealerships across metro Atlanta say they’ve been hit by a serial car thief.
Consumer investigator Jim Strickland learned the man is charged in one case but suspected in three others.
“He knew exactly what he was doing,” Thornton Road Chrysler Dodge Jeep controller Christina Crawford said about the suspect, Mark Anthony Joseph, 31.
Crawford says Joseph claimed he would pay cash for a 2013 Dodge Charger.
He left the dealership for a test drive and to get the money.
“So we put him in the vehicle and he never returned with the vehicle,” she said.
“How does that hit you?” Strickland asked.
“$28,000 worth,” she replied.
Joseph is facing theft charges in connection with the disappearance of a used Lexus from Sandy Springs Toyota. Auto fraud specialist Barry Bannister says in that case and two others Joseph wrote large checks, which later turned out to be dishonored because the account was already closed.
“I’m sure after your story airs and his picture’s shown, I’m sure other dealers are going to come forward and they need to know they need to call their local police departments,” Crawford said.
Cox Media Group
