ATLANTA — Andrew Walker, Mayson Hulsey and Jess Wilson were strangers before Feb. 8, 2019.
But how their paths came to cross - is a bizarre story.
Walker and his wife had their car, a black 2016 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon stolen from the LA Fitness parking garage on 3535 Peachtree Road on Jan. 29. Hulsey had her 2005 Nissan Xterra stolen from the same parking garage a few hours before. And Jess Wilson - she had her burgundy SUV and purse stolen from the LA Fitness parking lot on Terrell Mill Road in Marietta a few weeks later on Feb. 5.
Fast forward to Feb. 8th, when Amanda Rooney and Nathaniel Harris were arrested in connection to the thefts. The two were found inside Hulsey’s Nissan. And once Hulsey picked up her car, she found items belonging to both Walker and Wilson inside her car.
“It was trashed,” Hulsey described. “There was clothes, cigarettes butts. There were things that were items that was stolen from others that was thrown in my car.”
Not only were Walker and Wilson’s items found in Hulsey’s car, but other IDs, laptops and clothing, as well. In addition, Wilson said someone managed to cash a check from her bank, using Hulsey’s identity.
“My vehicle actually had an old checkbook in it," Wilson said. "They wrote a check that cleared the bank, and it was written to Mason Hulsey. They had her ID and were able to cash the check using her ID."
She also said her stolen credit cards and debit cards were used in the same shopping center where Rooney and Harris would be arrested inside Hulsey’s car.
If this wasn’t complicated enough, it turns outs Atlanta Police believe the Jan. 29 thefts at 3535 Peachtree Road are related to another theft from the same day - this one outside an LA Fitness on 75 5th St.
Surveillance video shows a woman who resembles Rooney outside the 5th Street location. However, Rooney and Harris have not yet been charged in connection to that theft. And, though Wilson’s items were found inside Hulsey’s car, Cobb County police have not said if Rooney and Harris are suspects in her case.
11Alive’s Hope Ford met the victims - it’s a spot of frustration for all three involved.
“I have no faith in our justice system," Wilson explained.
Walker added, “We’ve been investigating this ourselves and putting all our information together. It’s just uneasy honestly.”
Atlanta Police and Cobb County Police both said they are continuing to investigate the crimes.
Meanwhile, Rooney was charged with theft by receiving stolen property for the metro Atlanta crimes.
A look at her background, however, shows 23 arrests between 2007 and 2018 in both Orange County and Seminole County, Florida - where she’s listed as a resident. The crimes ranged from drug possession to possession of stolen property, theft and shoplifting. She served several short jail sentences and taken several plea deals including a recent jail sentence in Seminole County Jail in 2018 for multiple offenses.
Wilson said when she learned this, she was shocked: “It doesn’t sound like she served any real time.”
11Alive reached out to the Seminole County District Attorney, hoping to shed some light on why she’s been arrested and released multiple times. In an email, a spokesperson for the DA’s office wrote, “The final disposition of a criminal case is the result of a complex interaction between prosecutors, counsel for the defense, and the criminal court. Under Florida’s mandatory sentencing guidelines a defendant’s prior criminal history, the charged offenses in the conviction, and other factors are used to set a sentencing range for the Court.”
The email continued, “While we strive to address the underlying causation as well as the offense itself, the responsibility lies with the defendant to change their behavior. When they don’t, we ask that the Court to impose increasing punitive sanctions and ultimately, order the loss of their personal liberty.”
As for Harris, he was arrested and charged for being a fugitive from justice, and had a warrant in Seminole County Florida.
Walker and Wilson’s cars still have not been found.