Local

Airport valet employee accused of driving customers' cars

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte Mecklenburg police have arrested another employee of the valet parking service at Charlotte Douglas Airport on suspicion of driving cars that had been parked there while customers were out of town.
    
Police arrested Chancelor Bryant, 20, on Tuesday after they say he admitted taking two cars out of the valet deck and driving them without permission.
 
The valet company, Park Inc., said it noticed that a car was missing during an inventory check on May 2, and that it was returned on May 3.  They reported it to police who say they found a customer loyalty card with Bryant's name on it in the car.
 
Police say Bryant admitted taking that car and a Mercedes-Benz several days earlier.  They charged Bryant with two counts of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle -- a misdemeanor.
 
No one answered the door at Bryant's home on Wednesday, but the president of Park Inc. said Bryant had passed a background check and had been told about previous arrests involving employees who had taken cars and personal property from inside cars at the valet lot.
 
The problems have cost Park Inc. its contract with the airport after Eyewitness News first reported the arrests in November, 2013.
 
In an email, the president of Park Inc. told Eyewitness News in part:
 
"We have made recommendations to the airport on how to improve controls on who is exiting the garage, but with little success. We still have holes in the system."
 
The airport director was out of town Wednesday and not available for comment, but the deputy director told Eyewitness News on the telephone that airport officials are very concerned about the latest arrest and are considering options that they may discuss next week.