Memphis has been hit by a series of shoplifting incidents across various locations, with no arrests made so far, as reported by the Memphis Police Department on their Facebook page. The series includes a range of thefts from high-value clothing items at Citi Trends to everyday household products at Family Dollar stores, with suspects repeatedly evading capture.
In one notable case, at the Shell gas station on Range Line, a suspect, after a confrontation with the clerk, reportedly swiped five t-shirts and fled in a black Infiniti coupe – this was not the only instance as another thief on a separate occasion at Citi Gear, after an altercation with the employees, managed to leave with a few clothes items despite dropping others, also using an Infiniti for his getaway vehicle, according to the Memphis Police Department. In a similar vein, a shoplifting at Walgreens on Frayser Boulevard involved a suspect who masked their intent by using a wheelchair as a prop to steal sweets. Amid these events, also a package theft from the porch of a Memphis residence, where the perpetrator, sporting a black shirt and dark pants, made away with the stolen goods in a gray Nissan Maxima.
Additional reports included instances where a suspect jumped over the counter at the Circle K on Austin Peay and stole cigarettes and lighters and not to overlook, the Family Dollar incidents, which seemed to be a common target, with suspects making off with various items ranging from detergents to dog food – often described as Black individuals in the reports, and typically involving an escape vehicle, like the incident when the suspect fled in a silver Volkswagen GTI or the one involved a white Ford Focus used to whisk away stolen cleaning supplies from a CVS, as per the Memphis Police Department.
The spree of thefts carried on at Ollie's Bargain Hut, where a female suspect left without paying for her cartful of merchandise in a white Nissan Murano, and at a Dollar General store on James Road, where a man took off with bags of dog food. The Memphis Police Department Facebook post included photos of the suspects and vehicles in several instances, inviting anyone with information to come forward to the authorities, with contact numbers for various local precincts provided, hoping that community tips will lead to resolving these repeated acts of shoplifting.
