Fake basketball player allegedly stole BMW from Savannah, Georgia hotel

The BMW belonged to a dealership and had been supplied to a hotel guest as a loan vehicle, WSB-TV reported.

Police said the man claimed he was a professional basketball player with several vehicles parked at the hotel. Photo / Savannah Police Department

Valet staff told investigators every ticket issued by the service was linked to a particular vehicle. It remains unclear how the suspect obtained the ticket associated with the BMW, and police have not said which basketball player he allegedly claimed to be.

The dealership that owned the vehicle tracked the SUV to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, about 365km from Savannah. It was not immediately clear whether the vehicle had been recovered.

Investigators later discovered the white Audi seen in surveillance footage had been reported stolen the previous day. The New York Post reported that it was found unlocked in the hotel’s parking garage later that morning, with no visible exterior damage.

Police have not established how that vehicle was taken.

The same suspect has also been linked to the theft of another vehicle from a Savannah hotel about nine days earlier. A woman staying at the Fairfield Inn left her black 2019 Toyota C-HR with a valet service on August 5.

A man posing as a professional basketball player allegedly convinced valet staff at a Georgia hotel to hand him the keys to a US$90,000 BMW X5. Photo / Savannah Police Department

When she went to get her car the next morning, she was told the car had already been claimed.

Valet records showed the code had been used at 12.06am, according to the Independent.

As with the BMW, investigators have not explained how the suspect who collected the Toyota obtained the information needed to collect the car.

Savannah police released surveillance images of the suspect on social media as part of an appeal for information.