Caught on camera: Thief gets away with $370K car, cash, gun

ATLANTA (FOX 5 Atlanta) - An exotic car owner is turning to the public for help in tracking down his $370,000 Ferrari, but it's not the car he's most concerned about.

The owner, who wants to remain anonymous, told FOX 5's Emilie Ikeda that he's worried his loaded hand gun (which was in the stolen vehicle) has fallen into dangerous hands, and now he fears for the community's safety.

Resident Brandi Nicole witnessed the theft Saturday morning around 6:30 a.m.

"I had a guy walk by me in the parking deck, and he was on his phone," she told FOX 5. "He looked like he didn't know what he was doing, or where he was going, what car he was looking for."

Brandi Nicole parks next to the Ferrari. She was heading out for her morning cup of coffee. Surveillance video shows her enter her car just before a man approaches the same area off of Grandview Avenue.

"Then I heard vroom vroom," Brandi Nicole recalled. So, she waited at the bottom of the garage to see which luxury vehicle was heading out so early.

"Whenever he drove by, I was thinking, 'Well, I know that's not who owns that car,'" she said.

The victim was notified, which is when he realized he could not find one of the copies of his key fob.

"I was appalled at his audacity to walk into the complex, completely exposed, and to drive off in an exotic car that is owned by someone," the car owner said.

He told FOX 5 he left several pairs of designer sunglasses, $300 and an expensive hand gun in the vehicle.

"The gun was loaded and is still loaded, so I am greatly concerned about any police officers that pull him over or or any innocent victims," the owner added.

The car theft comes just after police reported 52 slider crimes in Zone 2, which includes Buckhead, for the first half of 2019. A slider crime is when a thief enters the passenger side of a car as a driver fills the vehicle's gas tank.

"It's alarming," Brandi Nicole said. "We don't even leave the house at night because we don't want to go out there and be caught up in anything."

Atlanta Police are investigating the car theft. In the meantime, the owner is working on establishing a reward for tips. Although, his heart has softened since the incident; he is now urging the thief to come forward to face proper punishment...and mentorship.

"It's really not about the car," the victim admitted. "I think it's about safety for people out there, and also, even though I really wanted to break [the thief] yesterday, today I'm thinking, this is a young man who is already broken."