Suspect Nabbed After Allegedly Stealing Police Cruiser in Atlanta

A man suspected in a robbery near an Atlanta transit station faced arrest after allegedly stealing a police cruiser on Monday. Phelan Thorpe, 30, was identified by police as the suspect linked to a Saturday afternoon robbery near the Midtown MARTA station.

Authorities charged Thorpe with robbery and simple battery related to the incident. Officers arrived on the scene at the 2000 block of Thomasville Drive SE shortly after 5:15 p.m. in response to reports of an armed wanted man in the area.

Video footage from the Atlanta Police Department reveals a suspect tailing a woman from the Midtown MARTA station before attacking and robbing her near 10th and West Peachtree streets on October 3, 2026. Officers discovered Thorpe, who then managed to enter a parked Atlanta Police Department patrol vehicle and flee the scene.

Thorpe allegedly drove the cruiser into Clayton County, colliding with a tanker truck on Interstate 675. After the crash, authorities detained him without incident. He suffered minor injuries and was hospitalized, while no officers or bystanders were harmed.

Police sought Thorpe’s arrest following an attack Saturday around 10th Street and West Peachtree Street in Midtown Atlanta. Responding at approximately 1:54 p.m., they found a woman harmed in a robbery.

Investigators revealed the suspect had followed the woman from the MARTA station, confronting her and demanding her belongings under the threat of a gun. The struggle involved the suspect allegedly punching the woman, seizing her phone and driver’s license, and fleeing.

Surveillance clips released by police captured the man pursuing the woman near a crosswalk before the altercation. Initially, police requested public assistance in identifying the suspect, whom they later named as Thorpe. Charges of robbery and simple battery were confirmed.

Officers continue probing how Thorpe accessed the police vehicle and whether a firearm was involved. A police update did not mention new charges tied to the patrol vehicle’s theft or the ensuing crash.

The investigation is still open.