Two suspects are on the run after breaking into a northeast Memphis equipment rental business overnight and driving off with a haul of flat-screen televisions, according to police. Officers responded to Nolan Audio Visual at 6255 Shelby Oaks around 1:20 a.m. Sunday after a slit was discovered in the building's sliding bay door.
According to WREG, a male suspect climbed through the cut in the bay door and began pulling several flat-screen TVs off the shelves inside. A second suspect loaded the televisions onto a white van as the first suspect removed them, and the pair then fled westbound on Shelby Oaks. Police say the first suspect wore a mask and all-black clothing, while the getaway vehicle was described as either an older-model Chevrolet Express or GMC Savana.
Surveillance footage obtained from the business and credited to MPD showed the break-in. Nolan Audio Visual, headquartered on Shelby Oaks Drive, has been in business since 1941, providing commercial audio, video, lighting equipment rentals, system installations and production services across the Mid-South region, according to the Better Business Bureau.
A Corridor Built for Business, and a Target for Thieves
The Shelby Oaks commercial district sits along a major industrial and logistics corridor near Interstate 40, home to corporate office parks, equipment distribution hubs and commercial service centers, per Belz Enterprises. That density of high-value inventory sitting in warehouses and showrooms overnight can make specialized businesses like Nolan Audio Visual attractive targets, even as citywide burglary numbers trend downward.
The break-in occurred in northeast Memphis, and officers responded around 1:20 a.m. Sunday.
How Investigators Hope to Track the Van
Investigators are seeking information that could help identify the getaway vehicle and suspects. Anyone with information on the identity of the two suspects or the whereabouts of the white van is asked to call CrimeStoppers of Memphis and Shelby County at 901-528-CASH.
What Charges Could Follow an Arrest
T.C.A. § 39-14-103(d) addresses aggregation of amounts taken in a series of thefts as part of a continuing criminal episode, not the aggregation of multiple items taken in a single incident, according to N. Cate Law. No suspects had been named or arrested as of Sunday's report.
The Nolan Audio Visual break-in echoes other recent commercial burglaries around Memphis. Hoodline previously reported on a case where bolt cutters hit a Brooks Road store.
