DeKalb County Police are asking the public for help finding a 21-year-old man accused of posing as a buyer on social media, then driving off with sellers' ATVs during test drives. Investigators say Jordan Wright is wanted on three counts of theft by taking and could be tied to additional cases, and they believe he was armed during at least some of the encounters.
According to WSB-TV, police say Wright would meet ATV sellers through social media listings, ask to take the vehicle for a test drive, and then simply drive off and stop responding to the owner. Detectives believe Wright was armed during these fraudulent meetups, according to 11Alive, a detail that turns what might look like simple theft into a far riskier encounter for the sellers involved.
SWAT Enters Apartment, Finds Gun but No Suspect
The search for Wright escalated on October 2, when officers converged on an apartment in the 4300 block of Pleasant Point Drive at The Village at Wesley Chapel. Per the WSB-TV report, two adults and a child came out of the unit and told officers Wright was inside, leading police to believe he had barricaded himself in the home.
SWAT officers entered and found a firearm inside the residence, but Wright was not there, per the same account. As reported by FOX 5 Atlanta, it remains unclear how Wright evaded the standoff before officers made entry, an open question that has not been resolved publicly.
Pattern of High-Value Vehicle Scams Across DeKalb
This is not the first time out-of-state sellers have been targeted through online listings in DeKalb County. In September 2025, a North Carolina seller reported losing a $19,000 utility terrain vehicle after driving five hours to meet a Facebook Marketplace buyer who vanished during a test drive, according to FOX 5 Atlanta's earlier coverage. The seller offered a $5,000 reward for its return.
A similar scheme played out in January 2024, when a Tennessee couple drove to unincorporated DeKalb County to sell a $13,000 dirt bike listed on Facebook Marketplace, only for a prospective buyer to take off with it during a requested test drive, per WSB-TV. In that case, the couple had met the buyer at an address where the homeowner had no ties to the suspect.
Legal Stakes for Theft by Taking in Georgia
Under Georgia law, theft by taking is addressed under O.C.G.A. § 16-8-2 and § 16-8-12 (Justia); penalties vary by property value and circumstances. Property worth $1,500.01 to $5,000 carries one to five years, while other thresholds and motor-vehicle rules differ. The potential penalties on the three counts Wright faces therefore depend on the circumstances if he is caught and convicted.
Georgia law also classifies ATVs as off-highway vehicles generally barred from public streets without local authorization, per Justia's rundown of O.C.G.A. § 40-1-1, which helps explain how a stolen ATV can disappear quickly off-road or into areas where it is harder to trace. Separately, Atlanta's City Council passed an ordinance in November 2020 treating illegal street racing and off-road ATV riding on city streets as violent offenses, requiring an arraignment before a judge rather than automatic release, according to Rough Draft Atlanta's report on the measure.
How to Report a Tip or Use a Safe Exchange Zone
DeKalb County Police are asking anyone who sees Wright or knows his whereabouts to use caution. Tips can be called in to 911, submitted anonymously through the free DeKalb County Police Department app, or texted using the keyword DKPD followed by the tip to the short code 847411.
The department's tip411 system automatically strips identifying user data before the tip reaches officers, according to The Champion Newspaper. For residents looking to avoid becoming the next victim of a marketplace scam, DeKalb County Police also maintain Safe Exchange Zones with 24-hour video surveillance at all four of its precincts, free to use on a first-come, first-served basis, according to WSB Radio.
The thefts add to a string of recent concerns around ATVs in DeKalb County. In a crash on June 23, 2026, a pregnant mother and her unborn child were killed after an ATV swerved to avoid an oncoming car, a tragedy that underscored the risks tied to the vehicles even before this theft investigation emerged.
