South Fulton County

Thieves steal SUV from open garage while family is home, police say

CITY OF SOUTH FULTON, Ga. — Police in the City of South Fulton are searching for thieves who they said stole an SUV from a garage while the family was at home.

The vehicle was taken in the middle of the day on Sunday in the Oakley Township subdivision. A similar theft happened not far away last month. In both crimes, thieves targeted homes with open garage doors.

Channel 2's Audrey Washington spoke to the victims of the most recent theft, who said they are surprised by how brazen the crimes are.

“Anybody that has the audacity to go in anyone’s garage, clearly that’s a very dangerous person,"  Patrick Hall told Washington.

Hall showed Washington surveillance video that shows the thieves park down the street before driving up to the home in a black Infiniti sedan.

The Halls said they had their garage door open and went inside. Surveillance video shows the thieves walk into the open garage. Within seconds, the Halls brand-new Nissan Pathfinder was gone.

“I think a lot of it is just some kids looking to go for a joyride, and I also think it’s a crime of opportunity," Brandis Hall told Washington.

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Amazingly, the Halls were able to do their own detective work and locate their stolen SUV. They used an SUV locator app and were able to find the vehicle parked miles away at an Atlanta apartment complex.

“I pressed 'locate' and it showed me where my car was," Brandis Hall said.

Patrick Hall said that, while at the complex, he saw the same black Infiniti they saw in the video, but the drivers sped away. Hall described the car as a black Infiniti G35 with black tinted windows and a drive-off tag.

Washington also obtained video from a car theft in June at another subdivision just a few miles away. In that case, one of the thieves rang the doorbell to distract the family from the garage before taking off with their SUV.

Police don't know if the two cases are connected. In the meantime, the Halls stepped up security at their home and now keep the garage door locked.