Buckhead CID Director Chases Down Teen Thief, Plans to Help Him

People often wonder what they'd do if they came face to face with a thief who wanted to take something of theirs. Would they hand it over? Would they chase them down?

Jim Durrett, 56-year-old executive director of the Buckhead Community Improvement District and an avid cyclist, found out on Saturday just before noon while waiting for his wife at the Lindbergh MARTA station in Buckhead. They were going to meet his brother-in-law at Taco Mac for lunch.

According to reports from The Saporta Report and 11Alive, was reading an email on his phone when a 16-year-old boy snatched the iPhone out of Durrett's hand and took off running down the street.

Durrett wasted no time and kicked off his Crocs shoes and chased the teen barefoot for about 300 yards, screaming out to anyone who can hear that the teen stole his phone.

"My adrenaline was pumping and I wasn't thinking anything through," Durrett told Patch on Monday.

His wife arrives and is completely puzzled why her husband is screaming and running barefoot down the street.

"I just tell her to turn around and chase, and she did," Durrett said.

It doesn't take long before he catches up to the young man who'd stopped to catch his breath.

That's when Durrett's wife yelled, "That's a 56-year-old man, punk!"

Durrett told the teen that if he just dropped the phone in the grass, he would let him go.

The boy dropped the phone, and Durrett picked it up and took a photo of him. Durrett called the police chief. MARTA police were able to capture him soon after in nearby woods and Durrett identified him.

Throughout the chase, Durrett said he never felt afraid.

"I don't get afraid of things. I ride my bike 35 miles per hour in Atlanta traffic," he said. "It did not occur to me that I was putting myself in danger."

However, Durrett couldn't shake the feeling that maybe he could help the young man in some way.

"I just thought this was kid who made a mistake and he'll either become a statistic or may actually be able to do something and contribute."

He thought about it as he drove the following day through the north Georgia mountains. He also won a bicycle race the day after chasing down the boy, who was 40 years his junior.

He hasn't had a chance to speak to the young man yet, but will follow the case closely.

When asked if he thinks he made a difference in the young man's life, Durrett replied, "Not yet, but I hope so!"