Alleged Thief Steals Car Filled With Christmas Presents: Police

WOODSTOCK, GA — The Woodstock Police Department is asking the public to help them identify a man accused of stealing a vehicle containing Christmas presents for a woman's children and jewelry belonging to her mother who died earlier this year.

A male subject allegedly stole the 2015 white Toyota Highlander around 6:30 p.m. Dec. 21 from a residence on Big Rock Way, which is located off Haney Road north of downtown Woodstock.

Police say the alleged thief is described as a black male in his early 20's with short black hair. He was wearing a "bomber" style jacket with an unidentified logo.

The vehicle's owner took to Facebook early Friday morning to vent her frustrations, adding her heart was "absolutely broken." Her SUV, Woodstock police told Patch, contained Christmas presents for her children, her wallet and credit cards and her mom's diamond necklace that was in her purse.

"That, unfortunately, was priceless to me," she said. "This being the first Christmas since she passed away makes that even harder to take."

The surveillance photo the resident shared — also provided to Patch by Woodstock police — shows the male subject ordering food from the drive-thru at a local Chick-fil-A restaurant.

Another agency is also working to determine if the same man could be behind an entering auto at a Holly Springs gun shop. Two vehicles, a late model dark blue Jeep Cherokee and a late-model gray Nissan Murano, pulled into Hi-Caliber Firearms parking lot around 4 p.m. Dec. 21.

Security cameras captured one subject get out of the Jeep, shatter the driver's side window of a vehicle and remove a handgun. Both vehicle left the parking lot together and was seen traveling southbound on Highway 5, Holly Springs police said. Holly Springs police detective Greg Bettis said investigators are working with Woodstock police to determine if the subject captured on Hi-Caliber's cameras is the same man accused of taking the SUV.

Anyone with information is asked to call Lt. Bob Kline at 678-493-4080 or the Woodstock Police Department's tip line at 770-592-6021.