MEMPHIS, Tenn. — It was not a good Monday for dozens of drivers who woke up to find their vehicles had been vandalized or ransacked overnight.
The Shelby County Sheriff’s Department said 23 vehicles were broken into at the Castlewood Suites on Whitten Road sometime early Monday morning.
Darius Brown, who was in town for work, was staying at the hotel. When he walked to the parking lot he immediately noticed someone had broken his driver’s side window and that he was not alone.
“There were 22 other cars hit in the same parking lot,” Brown said.
Brown said nothing was taken from his car.
“I landed last night so, there was nothing in there,” he said.
Brown spent most of the day in Memphis trying to replace his damaged rental car.
“I drove to three different places,” Brown said. “I could be making money but instead I’m trying to get a new rental.”
Residents at Riverset Apartments on Mud Island said car burglars also damaged 10 or more vehicles on their lot during the early morning hours.
Calum Tuttle, a former WREG intern, said he got home around midnight Monday and discovered his passenger side window was shattered hours later. He said nothing was taken from his car.
“After working for you guys so long and reading and writing a handful of stories about cars being broken into, I kind of got the sense maybe it’s not a good idea to leave valuables in your car,” Tuttle said.
Also, overnight, more than a dozen car break-ins were reported at the Sheratan Hotel also in the downtown area.
One victim said he paid for Valet parking at the hotel on North Main Street, but his car was still hit.
Police say never leave valuables inside your vehicle, especially a gun that is not secured. They say most of the time; car thieves are looking for weapons.
If you know anything about these car burglaries, call Crime Stoppers at (901)-528-CASH.