MEMPHIS, Tenn. – It’s become an all too familiar and alarming story, vehicle break-ins where thieves target workers at local warehouses or factories.
It usually happens during the overnight hours. Employees at one warehouse in southeast Memphis became the latest victims. Closing in on Christmas and more than a dozen workers at Jordan Aluminum Extrusion company on Burbank Road are finding it hard to be merry.
“They broke a window out of my car, ransacked it, stole merchandise out of my car,” De’Avis Holmes, a victim, said.
Holmes says he’s not the only victim. We are told 15 vehicles were broken into Monday night while the owners were working their shifts.
“One of my co-workers come in and asking us, ‘did we drive any of our cars up here?’ and we were like, ‘yea’ and he was like, ‘somebody came and busted everybody’s windows out.’ I thought it was a joke,” Holmes said.
It certainly wasn’t a joke, with a wide variety of items reportedly stolen.
“They took guns, they took laptops, they took money, they took just anything they could find that was valuable,” Holmes said.
According to Memphis Police the list includes cell phones, jewelry and important personal documents. Vehicles were “dusted” for fingerprints and video from a nearby sky cop will be reviewed.
Some of the victims told WREG they are concerned about what they call a “lack of security” at the company.
“It’s very dark and you really can’t see much with the little lighting they got, so yea, something needs to be done. If not it’s gonna get worse,” Yolunda Laughter, a victim, said.
The general manager of the company did not respond to questions about security, but did say there are surveillance cameras at the site.
With about 6,000 vehicle break-ins already reported this year in Memphis, Police warn no matter where you are crooks are doing their own brand of gift giving.
“They either buy it with the money they get from what they stole from your car, or they get something out of your car and give it to somebody. So everybody wants to give somebody something,” Col. Darrell Sheffield, of the Memphis Police Department, said.
