Police urge caution after Buckhead bar incidents

About two dozen reports of distraction scams, swindling, drink tampering under investigation.

Atlanta police are urging the city’s late-night revelers to take extra precautions while out on the town after several robberies and various forms of swindling have been reported at multiple Buckhead bars.

About two dozen police reports obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution dating to 2021 detail allegations ranging in severity from ride-share and distraction scams to robberies and suspects surreptitiously slipping intoxicants into victims’ drinks and then kidnapping them. The victims, in some cases, said they woke up miles away without their valuables and little to no recollection of what happened.

The distraction scams usually involved a suspect asking a victim to trade contact information while the victim is distracted by another person. The suspect then transferred money out of the victim’s accounts.

In the ride-share scams, a driver secretly takes a cellphone from the victim, leaving that person to believe the phone was lost elsewhere. The victim then realized they were missing hundreds or thousands of dollars.

“We urge anyone planning to spend time out drinking to have a plan and stick with it,” police said in a statement Tuesday. “It is important to take charge of your experience and take steps to ensure you do not become the victim of a crime.”

Officials said they have identified one suspect and secured arrest warrants, but they did not share any other information, including to which case that person is connected.

In a report filed last month, a man told police he was at a bar in Buckhead’s South Tuxedo Park when he was approached by a woman who was being flirty and “overly nice” to him. He already had his drink in hand, but he believed he was drugged.

“The victim stated that the female was all over him and could have been close enough to put something in his drink,” the officer noted in the report. “The victim stated he remembers talking to the female suspect, then next thing, he was in an unknown vehicle with people he didn’t recognize and then passed out again.”

The man said he was later awakened by the suspects removing him from the vehicle, assaulting him and taking his belongings. He said he didn’t know where he was and walked around until he found a gas station, where he “tried begging random people for help to get home,” the report states.

Eventually, he was able to get home and noticed his financial accounts had been hacked. The suspects had even requested money from his friends, claiming he was in trouble, the police report detailed.

“The victim stated he never gave anyone his code to his phone or apps and thinks the suspects used his face recognition while he was passed out,” the responding officer noted.

In another case also filed last month, a man said he was at another bar in the same area and ordered his last drink around 2 a.m. He didn’t remember anything between then and 3:30 a.m., and when he came to, he was standing outside of an apartment building about a quarter-mile away, according to a report. That’s when he realized his phone, wallet and driver’s license were missing.

“The Atlanta Police Department is aware of these cases and is investigating each,” the department said. “While we are not at a point of releasing details on each of these investigations, (we) can tell you these are cases we take seriously and our investigators are committed to finding who is responsible and apprehending them.”

Another case from 2021 details a more violent encounter. The victim told police he was waiting for a ride-share to arrive when he was knocked out by a blunt object and beaten while on the ground. The suspects then took his phone and his ride-share to an address near Bankhead and had food delivered there through one of his accounts, the report states. He wound up losing $7,618.

It is not clear whether investigators believe these incidents are individual crimes or part of an organized operation.

Police said they’ve increased patrols in the areas where these incidents were reported, and many of the bars and other nearby businesses employ offduty officers to deter crime.

But, “with many of these incidents occurring inside a crowded establishment, or without the victim initially being aware, it is a challenge for law enforcement alone to address these thefts before they occur,” the department said.

They encourage people to follow these tips for a safe night out:

■ Drink with friends and ensure your group members stay together and look out for one another.

■ Pay close attention to your drink throughout the night. Never leave it unattended.

■ If you see someone tampering with your drink, stop drinking and call police as soon as possible.

■ Be alert and pay attention to your surroundings. If you see criminal activity, report it — especially drink tampering.

■ Leave valuables at home. If you will be drinking to the point of impairment, have a plan for protecting your valuables and ensuring that no one takes advantage of your impaired state.

■ Plan how you will get to and from the location. ■ Let someone know where you will be.

■ Ensure a password is needed to access your phone and all financial apps.

“We urge anyone who has been the victim of a crime to call police and report it as soon as possible,” officials said. “Reporting crime quickly aids in the investigation as well as in identifying crime trends.”