SHELBY COUNTY, Tenn. – A Memphis man is accused of stealing nearly $29,000 worth of merchandise from his cousin’s wireless store on East Shelby Drive two days after being fired from the business.
Members of the Shelby County Sheriff Office’s ALERT unit responded to a break-in last month at B Connected Wireless in the Shelby Collection strip mall. ALERT stands for Area Law Enforcement and Retailers Team.
The business owner told investigators someone had broken into his store in the middle of the night, and he believed his cousin was responsible.
The owner of B Connected Wireless said he had recently fired his cousin and said his cousin sent him text messages threatening to “clear out his store.”
Surveillance video from the store captured someone entering the business at around 1:20 a.m. with a key before turning off the alarm system and disabling the camera system.
The store owner identified the man in the video as his cousin, Malik Hamud.
Detectives also located a store key near a shattered display case the owner said belonged to Hamud.
Detectives said using law enforcement databases, they were able to locate a red Odyssey van registered to Hamud’s wife driving southbound on Hacks Cross towards E. Shelby Drive at around 1:07 a.m. on the morning of the burglary.
Investigators said surveillance video from the apartment complex where Hamud lives showed the same red van entering the complex at 1:57 a.m. Deputies said cell phone records also showed Hamud in the area of the store during the time of the break-in.
Hamud has been charged with burglary of a building and theft of property between $10,000 and $60,000.
He will make his first appearance before a judge on the charges Tuesday.
The owner of the store did not want to comment about the case.
