Stolen Car From Snellville Auto Shop Recovered Blocks Away

A number of vehicles were allegedly stolen from  in late April. Because of a concerned citizen calling about an illegally parked car, one of its stolen vehicles was recovered.

According to the Gwinnett County Police report, the burglary occurred at Premier Autobody & Collision at 3465 Stone Mountain Highway. When the owners arrived one Thursday morning, they noticed one of the shop's front windows had been smashed.

The suspect or suspects took a computer, a Volkswagen Passat and a Ford Five Hundred Limited that had not yet been repaired.

Forced entry was not needed to take the cars since the keys were in plain sight. The culprits also took the keys to the owner's Mercedes, but the vehicle was not taken.

Around 2 p.m. the next day, police received a call about a car that was illegally parked near a stop sign at the intersection of Sloping Terrace and Highpoint Road, less than a mile away from the burglary.

The vehicle turned out to be the stolen Ford, which was found unoccupied and with the front windows rolled down. Police could not find the keys in the car.

The complaintant told police that he noticed the car had been parked there since 7 a.m. the same day. The Ford had to be impounded.

Inside the Police Reports runs regularly every week. The information is based solely on police incident reports provided on request.