25-year-old man accused of breaking into a dozen cars dies hours later in violent crash

Michael Seiden
·2 min read
16

A 25-year-old man arrested more than a dozen times is dead following a violent crash.

Channel 2′s Michael Seiden was in west Midtown where investigators suspect he was committing multiple crimes before his death.

A weekend of celebration was ruined by a pair of smash-and-grab thieves who broke into several vehicles parked inside a garage in west Midtown late Friday evening.

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One of the victims who did not want to be identified said, “(I) was inside the hotel for an hour and a half. I was getting ready to go home and get back to my car and when I got to my car noticed the back passenger window was busted out.”

Police say the suspects stole a gun, electronics, wallets and purses before speeding off in a BMW.

As officers searched the area, the suspects drove to the city’s West End neighborhood.

Just after 4 a.m., police say the driver of the BMW crashed into an unoccupied vehicle before slamming into a tree.

The impact was so violent it sent neighbors rushing out of their homes and into the streets.

The driver was pulled from the wreckage before he was pronounced dead at the scene.

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On Monday the medical examiner’s office identified him as 25-year-old Charles McDaniel.

He was a repeat offender who is also a documented gang member notorious for committing crimes all over the city.

Seiden reported on him in 2019 after he was accused of crashing a stolen SUV in southwest Atlanta.

At the time, the victim, a Georgia State University student described what happened.

“The gentleman came and just stole multiple sets of keys from the valet box,” the car theft victim said.

The Atlanta Police Department said he spent the next week driving the stolen Audi around the city where he committed multiple violent crimes, including an aggravated assault with a firearm. He plead guilty to the crime but did not spend any time in prison.

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