'Water Boys' allegedly steal DeKalb County man's wallet

Man says 'Water Boys' stole his wallet

Doug Fortenberry says the incident happened on Aug. 18 along Wesley Chapel Road as he prepared to turn onto Interstate 20. Fortenberry said that he had stopped to buy water when one of the boys grabbed his wallet. DeKalb Police confirmed they are still investigating and ask anyone with information to come forward.

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - A DeKalb County man is speaking out after he says three teens selling water took advantage of his kindness and stole his wallet.

What they're saying:

Doug Fortenberry says the incident happened on Aug. 18 along Wesley Chapel Road as he prepared to turn onto Interstate 20.

"Just an unfortunate fact of life around here. I'm not traumatized, but I hope it will help some other people," Fortenberry said.

Fortenberry said that he had stopped to buy water when one of the boys grabbed his wallet.

"As I rolled down the window, I pulled my wallet out, and he grabbed it and immediately took off like a deer running and crossed 4 or 5 lanes of the highway," Fortenberry recalled.

He immediately called 911 but said the teens acted as if they had done this before.

"I was on the phone with 911, but I had to drive a half a mile to turn around, so I followed them for about five minutes. They were very casual. It seemed like they were pretty used to doing this," he said.

The teens ultimately escaped into the woods. The theft happened around 2 p.m., a time Fortenberry noted they should have been in school.

Fortenberry said the moment caught him off guard.

"I was just startled. I wish I could have played tug of war with them a little bit but he was gone. There was no time to react. I couldn't get out the car and I would have never caught up with him anyway," he said, chuckling as he looked back on it.

Dig deeper:

FOX 5 has covered multiple incidents involving the so-called "water boys" in metro Atlanta. Victims have reported stolen phones, snatched cash, and even attempts to transfer large sums through CashApp while pretending to sell water.

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Still, Fortenberry says he doesn’t want fear to stop people from being kind.

"Matter of fact, I've given money on the streets to other people since then. I respect the good in people and always trying to help people out," he said.

What's next:

DeKalb Police confirmed they are still investigating and ask anyone with information to come forward. Tips can be shared anonymously.