DUNWOODY, Ga. — A man had a brief stint in handcuffs after Dunwoody police thought he stole a vehicle. Turns out, the car was his.
The department said officers were patrolling when they found a stolen vehicle driving south on Winters Chapel Road last Saturday. During the traffic stop, the driver and the passenger complied with all law enforcement orders and were detained in handcuffs, according to police.
Police said the vehicle was reported stolen on Friday. The man clarified he was the one who reported it stolen.
According to the department, the man noticed his vehicle was missing from the parking lot of his apartment complex in Atlanta, so he called 911. Officers labeled the vehicle's tag number as stolen in law enforcement systems. The next morning, the man went to his leasing office where he was informed they towed his vehicle for parking it in a restricted area, investigators said. He contacted the towing company and got his car back, however, he did not inform the police.
Officers stopped him Saturday because the license plate tag was still marked as belonging to a stolen vehicle.
"Once this information was verified, he was released and his vehicle was returned to him," officers said. "Moral of the story: If you ever report your vehicle stolen, always contact your local law enforcement agency if you locate the vehicle. Failure to do this will cause quite a scene when officers pull you over."
