Some employees at a United Parcel Service Customer Center in Atlanta are speaking out about what they say has been a recent rash of break-ins to their personal vehicles on site.
“We’d been gone for about five hours, and I get a call from another driver telling me my truck’s been broke in,” says UPS truck driver Chris McGrew.
He tells WSB Radio his shift a few days ago had him on the road to Florida when he heard what happened to his pickup truck back at his Fulton Industrial Boulevard workplace parking lot.
“Busted-out window. Messed up the door, probably the door has to be replaced. “We were almost in Jacksonville, Florida...we had to detour all the way back to Atlanta just so I could get my truck to a safe location,” McGrew says.
His was one of nearly a dozen personal employee vehicles broken into Sunday night, Atlanta Police confirm to WSB. One of the vehicles had items stolen from inside. APD says this follows a similar reported incident at the same location January 31. Two employees believe the thieves are looking for money and firearms.
McGrew says he can afford to pay an insurance deductible for repairs but says he’s angry. “Some (fellow co-workers) aren’t as fortunate as I am. They live week to week, and they can’t afford to pay their deductible to get their car fixed.”
But he says there’s a bigger issue. “It’s really not the fact of the stuff. Now, it’s the fact of other employees’ safety. When are we going to have another employee walk out there as somebody’s breaking into their car and you spook them and they either beat ‘em up real bad or they pull a gun out and shoot ‘em,” says McGrew. “UPS knows about it and they’ve known about it - all the break-ins that’s been going on.”
UPS sent a statement to WSB Radio: “This is an unfortunate situation, and we are cooperating with the Atlanta Police Department. We do not comment on active investigations and defer to the investigating authorities.”
Another UPS employee at the Fulton Industrial Blvd location tells WSB the rash of break-ins dates to March of 2021. “It’s our private parking lot that’s open to anybody that wants to come in.” Jason Rochester says there’s one guard for a two-sectioned parking lot area, with one surveillance camera.
He wants the company to provide more in terms of security. “What we’re really looking for is a gate that we can use a key or badge to get in,” says Rochester.
WSB’s follow-up questions to UPS for clarification on parking lot security measures have not been returned.
In March of 2021, Channel 2 Action News reported on similar incidents of employee personal vehicle break-ins at the same facility.
Atlanta police say there have not yet been any arrests tied to vehicle break-ins from 2021 or this year.