Update: AJC.com reports singer Akon’s white Range Rover SUV was recovered after being stolen from a Buckhead gas station early Tuesday.
Akon told police he was still pumping gas when he noticed his SUV pulling away from the gas pump.
Surveillance video confirmed his story. The video footage shows a black four-door BMW sedan driving into the gas station at 11:37 p.m. and pulling alongside the Range Rover, according to the police report.
The singer’s cellphone was still inside the car when it was stolen. He used a tracking app on the phone to follow the vehicle to Lawton Street in southwest Atlanta, but it was already gone by the time police arrived, according to AJC.com.
The vehicle was recovered in Forest Park Tuesday morning, said police spokesman Officer Steve Avery.
Originally published on: May 25, 2021 @ 08:49
Atlanta police are searching for musician Akon’s SUV that was stolen from a QuikTrip on Sidney Marcus Blvd in Buckhead just after midnight on Tuesday.
The 48-year-old singer, rapper and music producer had just finished pumping gas and left his white Range Rover running while he went inside the convenience store, police say
Akon, whose real name is Aliaune Damala Badara Akon Thiam, is best known for his singles “Locked Up” and “Lonely” off his debut album Trouble (2004).
His second studio album Konvicted (2006) sold over one million records in the U.S. after only six weeks.
Konvicted spawned the hits “Smack That” (featuring Eminem), “I Wanna Love You”, featuring Snoop Dogg, “Gringo” and “Don’t Matter.” The album eventually sold more than 5 million copies globally.
Auto thefts in Atlanta are up about 47 percent from this time last year, according to 11 Alive News.
Atlanta police urge residents to be vigilant and never leave their vehicles running. A similar incident happened to Atlanta rapper Ludacris last year when his Mercedes was stolen.
“Any time you stop your vehicle and you leave your vehicle for just a split second, please turn your vehicle off and take your keys with you and secure your vehicle,” Lt. Dorian Graham told 11 Alive. “We’re having far too many vehicles stolen because we are leaving our vehicles running.”
