Unsecured garages and unlocked vehicles were once again favorite targets of thieves in Bartlett last week. See those crimes and others in the following report from the Bartlett Police Department for the period of July 17-23. This listing includes the most notable incidents for the reporting period and does not necessarily reflect all police activity.
Editor’s note: All suspects are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, and values are estimated for stolen/damaged items. These are brief summaries of detailed BPD reports.
July 17
Falling Star Cove (auto burglary)
Someone burglarized a man’s unlocked truck in his driveway on July 17. Items missing included a business papers, documents and a briefcase containing a laptop, a .380 revolver, cash and a wallet. The wallet held two bank cards and a driver’s license. The theft happened between 12:30 a.m. and 7:30 a.m.
Tonya Marie Cove (residential burglary)
A woman reported on July 17 that her Stihl blower was missing from her home’s attached garage. Her husband also said his Echo weed trimmer was missing. She believes both items were still in the garage as of July 13.
Video surveillance of the home showed two suspects arriving in a white older model Chevy Malibu Classic around 6:20 p.m. July 14. The driver walked into the open garage and left with the blower and weed trimmer.
July 18
Unspecified address (theft)
A woman reported on July 18 that someone had stolen her yellow beach bike from her open garage. She noticed the theft around noon July 6. Someone also stole a blue Schwinn mountain bike that was propped against a tree near the garage.
New Brunswick Road (vandalism)
A suspect shattered the front passenger window of a woman’s vehicle, she reported on July 18. The damage happened between 8:30 a.m. and 5:05 p.m. Surveillance footage showed a male in a straw hat working on the flower bed sprinklers in front of that car. The camera angle didn’t show whether he struck her vehicle with anything.
July 19
Stone Trace Circle (vandalism)
A woman said someone broke the back window of her vehicle between 9:30 p.m. July 18 and 7:45 p.m. July 19.
Old Brownsville Road (fraud)
A man reported July 19 that someone had stolen his wallet and run up a series of unauthorized ATM transactions on his bank account. He said he had a female guest in his home around 8:30 p.m. July 18, and they both went to an outbuilding so the man could repair his wallet. Afterward he left the wallet in the outbuilding and dropped the guest off at her Memphis home.
The next morning, his account showed 11 unauthorized ATM transactions and 20 unauthorized debits from his account, and his wallet was missing from the outbuilding.
Gingerhill Lane (burglary)
A man reported July 19 that suspects burglarized his home’s open garage and took a Troy-Bilt weed trimmer, Troy-Bilt edger attachment, Troy-Bilt blower attachment, Troy-Bilt hedge trimmer, DeWalt impact wrench set and a set of Nike golf clubs.
The complainant said his wife saw the suspects around 5:15 p.m. July 13: An unknown black female who took the items and a black male driver of their white older model Chevrolet sedan. She estimated the woman was about 28 years old with shoulder-length black hair and wore a pink cropped shirt and black pants. The male was about 25 years old with a light complexion and short dreadlocks.
Stage Road (theft from motor vehicle)
A victim and other individuals flagged down a patrol officer at Kangaroo Express (5984 Stage Road) around 3:18 p.m. July 19. They said that less than 10 minutes earlier a black male driving a white Toyota entered the parking lot while they were working inside. They saw him pull in behind the victim’s white Ford and take a backpack blower and a weed trimmer from the back of the Ford. The victim said he followed the Toyota but lost track of it.
Buckley Cove (theft from motor vehicle)
A man lost some yard equipment to opportunistic thieves in the parking lot of Walmart (8400 U.S. 64) on July 19. He parked at the store at 5:20 p.m. with a weed trimmer and orange Stihl backpack leaf blower BR600 in the truck bed but immediately returned because he forgot his wallet.
He noticed a silver SUV parked next to him with the engine still running, but no one exited the vehicle. He went back to the store and returned within five minutes. The blower was gone, but the weed trimmer was left behind.
July 20
Luther Road (theft)
Someone stole a PlayStation 4, 60 PlayStation games and an Argos laptop computer from a woman’s unlocked home between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. July 19. She reported the incident the next morning.
Brunswick Road (theft)
A woman reported an iPad Mini theft on July 20. She realized it was missing from her office at Lakeside Behavioral Health’s adolescent building in April or May but thought she had just misplaced it. Then on July 19 she received an automatic email from her iPad, stating that someone was trying to access it.
She sent a message stating, “I know you have my iPad. I want it back.” When she didn’t receive a reply, she locked the iPad via her iPhone. A tracker application indicated the iPad was on the 5700 block of Richburg Avenue in Memphis. BPD asked the Shelby Co Sheriff’s Office to check the address. The woman could not provide a serial number or model number for the iPad.
Stage Road (theft from motor vehicle)
Someone broke out the front driver’s side window of a man’s vehicle and burglarized it while it was parked at Dollar General (5756 Stage Road), the victim reported on July 20. The damage happened between 5 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
Items taken included an iPhone 4, black bi-fold wallet and green book bag containing a set of Magic playing cards.
The responding officer spotted several blood drops on the exterior of the driver’s door and inside on the seat and head rest. The victim said there were no blood stains in or on his vehicle before the break-in.
July 21
Oak Walk Lane (lawn equipment theft)
A man who cut his brother-in-law’s lawn on July 21 loaded the equipment into his open trailer and went inside the home around 3 p.m. July 21. When he returned about 45 minutes later, someone had taken his Stihl orange-and-black weed trimmer, Stihl stick edger and Redmax backpack blower.
A neighbor said she saw three young-looking black males exit an older model white Chevy Malibu and take the lawn equipment.
Juneway Drive (theft)
A man reported July 21 that someone stole several items from his carport, truck bed and basement. He said they first entered his basement through an unlocked rear door and took a pancake-style air compressor, then went to the carport area, where they took a Black & Decker hedge trimmer Husquvarna chainsaw, unknown brand of pellet rifle with scope, and a gas can. They also took an Echo weed trimmer that was in the back of his truck, parked in the driveway.
Melissa Woods Drive (theft)
A man said July 21 that someone had stolen his Charter Arms .44-caliber revolver within the past week. He returned from a business trip on July 17 and noticed that the gun was missing.
July 23
Sparrow Spring Loop (motor vehicle theft)
Someone stole a woman’s black Chevy Cruz from the parking lot of the Quail Ridge Highland Apartments, she reported July 23. She last saw the vehicle around 2 a.m. that morning when she got a pack of cigarettes from it.
Dispatch later notified the officer that the Memphis Police Department had located the vehicle.
U.S. 70 (theft)
A woman at Culpepper Place Assisted Living (7480 U.S. 70), reported on July 23 that someone had entered her room and taken some of her jewelry within the past few days.
