A 30-year-old man sought in connection with the violent robbery of a woman near an Atlanta MARTA station was arrested Monday after authorities said he took a marked police cruiser and crashed it into a tanker truck.
The Atlanta Police Department identified the suspect as Phelan Thorpe, who investigators had been searching for since Saturday’s alleged robbery near the Midtown MARTA station.
Thorpe faces robbery and simple battery charges related to the reported attack, police said.
Police were called shortly after 5:15 p.m. Monday to the 2000 block of Thomasville Drive SE after receiving information that a wanted man was there and might be armed, according to authorities.
Video released by the Atlanta Police Department appears to show a suspect trailing a woman from the Midtown MARTA station before allegedly attacking her and taking her belongings near 10th and West Peachtree streets on Oct. 3, 2026. (Atlanta Police Department)
Officers found Thorpe at the scene and began speaking with him. Police said he then entered an Atlanta police cruiser that had been parked nearby and drove off.
Authorities said Thorpe crossed into Clayton County in the stolen patrol vehicle before striking a tanker truck on Interstate 675.
Officers arrested him at the crash site without additional trouble. Thorpe sustained minor injuries that were not considered life-threatening and was transported to a hospital, police said. No officers or other members of the public were injured.
The woman allegedly attacked and robbed near the Midtown MARTA station is shown recovering after the Oct. 3, 2026, mugging in Atlanta. (Atlanta Police Department)
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Thorpe had been wanted since Saturday’s reported assault near 10th Street and West Peachtree Street in Midtown Atlanta.
Officers arrived at about 1:54 p.m. and found a woman who had been hurt during what police described as an assault and robbery.
Investigators said the suspect followed the woman from the Midtown MARTA station, confronted her and claimed to have a gun. He allegedly demanded her purse and iPhone, prompting a physical confrontation.
According to police, the man struck the woman with a closed fist, took her phone and driver’s license, and ran away. She was taken to a hospital for evaluation.
Surveillance footage released by Atlanta police showed a man following the woman near a crosswalk shortly before the alleged attack. Investigators initially sought the public’s assistance in identifying him.
An Atlanta police patrol vehicle. (atlantaga.gov)
Atlanta police later named Thorpe as the suspect in the Midtown robbery and announced the robbery and simple battery charges.
Police have not said how Thorpe reportedly got into the cruiser, and it was not immediately known whether a firearm was recovered.
A Monday night update from police did not specify whether Thorpe would face additional charges for allegedly taking the patrol vehicle or causing the crash.
The investigation is continuing.
