Investigators say the recording helped them trace an SUV to a scrap metal facility.
ATLANTA — A cellphone video recorded by a robbery victim helped police identify two women accused of stealing air conditioner parts from his Atlanta home, investigators said.
The victim, a 35-year-old man, had moved into the Meador Way home one day before the incident. Police said he expected a city worker to arrive to turn on his water, but instead encountered a woman with a handgun inside the home.
Investigators said Chyneka Batista, 48, pointed the gun at the man. Police said the man grabbed a hammer and followed her outside, where Alexis Avery, 33, was stripping the home’s HVAC unit. During a struggle, police said Avery struck the man in the head with bolt cutters.
Before the suspects got away, the man recorded their SUV leaving the neighborhood. Police said that video captured the vehicle’s license plate, allowing investigators to track the suspects to a scrap metal facility where parts from the air conditioner had recently been sold.
Police said Batista and Avery were arrested and face multiple felony charges. Investigators also detained and questioned a third woman identified in court documents as the SUV’s driver. She had not been charged as of Wednesday afternoon.
The case brought concern on the dead-end street, where neighbor Jamal Thornton said strangers do not usually pass through. “To come back here, you’ve got to be looking for something,” Thornton said.
Police had not released additional details Wednesday about the value of the stolen parts or whether more charges could be filed.
Author note: Last updated Thursday, July 9, 2026.