Savannah police seek man who claimed to be a pro basketball player in $90,000 BMW theft
SAVANNAH, Ga. —
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Savannah police are asking for help identifying a man accused of driving away from a downtown hotel in a $90,000 BMW after claiming he was a professional basketball player.
The department shared images of the suspect Thursday on its Facebook page, hoping someone would recognize him.
According to Savannah Police Department records, the BMW theft was among several August incidents involving valet operations at downtown hotels. The records detail two stolen vehicles, a missing key and the recovery of another stolen luxury car.
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Suspect claims to be pro basketball player
The BMW was reported stolen Aug. 14 from the Hyatt Regency Savannah at 2 W. Bay St., police records show.
Investigators said the man entered the hotel lobby, returned to a white Audi to collect his belongings and then handed valet workers a ticket for a gray 2026 BMW X5.
The man claimed he played professional basketball and had several vehicles at the hotel, according to the police report.
Valet employees said each ticket was unique to a specific vehicle. Surveillance video showed the man presenting the BMW’s ticket and driving away around 12:30 a.m., police said.
The SUV was a dealership loaner being used by a hotel guest. The dealership later tracked it to the 2100 block of North Ocean Boulevard in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
Savannah police notified Myrtle Beach authorities and requested that the BMW be listed as stolen in state and national databases.
Police described the suspect as a Black man between 20 and 30 years old. No arrest was noted in the records.
Stolen Audi found at Hyatt
Earlier that day, officers recovered the white 2025 Audi A5 linked to the BMW suspect, according to Savannah police records.
Police found the unlocked Audi in the Hyatt’s parking garage after learning it had been stolen. The $30,000 vehicle had no obvious exterior damage.
Another law enforcement agency had listed the Audi as stolen Aug. 13. Savannah police notified that agency and had the car towed.
The records do not say where or how the Audi was initially stolen.
Toyota vanishes from another downtown hotel
A separate vehicle theft was reported Aug. 6 at the Fairfield Inn at 135 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. in downtown Savannah.
A guest told police she left her black 2019 Toyota C-HR and its key with the hotel’s valet service shortly before 4 p.m. Aug. 5. She received a code to text when she wanted the vehicle returned.
When she sent the code around 9:38 the next morning, hotel staff could find neither the Toyota nor its key, police records show.
Valet records indicated someone had used the retrieval code at 12:06 a.m. — more than nine hours before the guest said she first sent it. The system did not display the originating phone number.
The key remained listed as checked in but was missing from the valet lockbox, police said.
Officers searched the parking garage but did not find the $18,000 Toyota. A license plate reader had recorded it on Dean Forest Road around 7 p.m. Aug. 5.
Efforts to review surveillance footage stalled because garage cameras reportedly were not working and hotel employees could not access other camera systems.
Police issued a lookout for the Toyota. Savannah police records do not indicate whether the Toyota or BMW was later recovered.