Atlanta police are searching for a man who was caught on security cameras entering a woman’s Range Rover in the parking deck of Phipps Plaza and taking her jewelry at gunpoint.
Officers responded to the robbery call at the upscale shopping mall March 12 around 8:20 p.m., police said in a news release. The woman told officers a man opened her passenger door, pointed a gun at her and demanded her jewelry. The suspect then began pulling the woman’s jewelry off her before walking away.
Security video shows the woman looking at her phone before getting into the driver’s seat of the white Range Rover. The man walks through the parking deck toward the car and appears to be empty-handed. Movement can be seen inside the SUV as the man takes the woman’s jewelry, then gets out of the passenger-side door. As the man walks away, he can be seen carrying a bag.
The suspect was seen leaving Phipps Plaza in a red SUV, and police were able to capture photos of the SUV on traffic cameras near the Buckhead mall.
The Buckhead area, and particularly its crown jewel shopping malls, has been at the center of a fierce debate about crime in the Atlanta area, and a variety of measures have been taken to increase safety. In September, Lenox Square changed its policies to require all minors to be accompanied by an adult at all times, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution previously reported. Lenox Square is already home to an Atlanta Police Department satellite office, and a new APD precinct was opened in January just down Peachtree Road from the two malls.
Though crime in Buckhead is relatively low compared to the rest of the city and trending downward, according to APD statistics, recent incidents continue to grab attention.
About a month before the March 12 robbery at Phipps Plaza, a man was robbed of his cash and new Jordan brand sneakers at gunpoint outside of Lenox mall. Earlier this year, a 28-year-old woman was driving on Lenox Road just down the street from the malls when she was stopped by men in the street. She was robbed at gunpoint and pistol-whipped but was able to drive herself to the hospital.
Phipps was also the scene of the tragic death of 7-year-old Kennedy Maxie, who was hit by a stray bullet outside of the mall in December 2020. She died five days after the shooting, and a Virginia man was arrested and charged with her murder the following month.
Anyone with information about the identity of the March 12 robbery suspect is asked to contact 911 or Crime Stoppers Atlanta. Information can be submitted anonymously to the Crime Stoppers Atlanta tip line at 404-577-TIPS (8477) or online at www.StopCrimeATL.com. Callers do not have to give their name or any identifying information to be eligible for the reward of up to $2,000 for the arrest and indictment of the suspect.
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