Local

Police charge airport valet with stealing cars

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Police in Charlotte charged an employee of the airport's valet parking service with stealing three cars that customers had left while they were away on trips.

Detectives charged Christopher Fletcher with three counts of auto theft after they learned that he had allegedly taken cars from the business valet parking deck and drove them for personal use.

The parking company, Park Inc., did not return phone calls Friday, but a spokesperson for the airport said they are working with police and the parking company to make sure the same thing doesn't happen in the future.

The victims said they had come back to find their cars low on gas or something missing, according to police.

In each case they were luxury cars including a BMW, Lexus and Infiniti.

One victim said there was damage on her car that wasn't there when she had left it.

Some said the problem had been going on for years.

"We prefer to park our car with the valet parking service but when we come back the gas is always out," Denise Williams said.

She and her husband Rick Williams said they have used the valet service many times over the last several years and found the cars low on gas.

Finally Rick Williams said he decided to check his odometer before he left.

"Setting it to zero when I dropped it off at the valet counter, and when I got back it would be 129 miles, it would be 70 miles it would be 50 miles--that's when I knew something was going on," Williams said.

The Williams' said they contacted the parking company but did not get any real answers, so they contacted Eyewitness News.

"It's a break of trust, it's a break of public trust," Denise Williams said.