Arrests made in AT&T break-in

Arrests made in AT&T break-in

Suspects in custody after brazen theft at cell-phone store

news@theeveningtimes.com

Three out of four suspects in the AT& T Store plundering on December 23, were nabbed by Memphis Police on Friday. West Memphis Assistant Police Chief Robert Langston indicated undercover cops armed with a unique pickup truck description which keyed quick action by Memphis authorities.

But working close with Memphis police was only half the story. With 25 items stolen valued at $13,000 becoming scattered, local detectives made arrests after locating some of the stolen items. WMPD Detective Justin Burnett tracked down a stolen phone at a used-phone-buying kiosk at an ECO-ATM in Memphis. Another phone was tracked by WMPD Detective Matthew Jarret who subsequently took confessions from subjects.

“These detectives did an excellent job tracking these phones and worked closely with Memphis PD to solve the case,” said Langston.

Four days after the burglary the crooks were driving the dark crew-cab pickup truck with no tailgate as Memphis Police staked out the suspicious truck.

“Memphis PD was doing surveillance on a truck that matched our description,” said Langston, “They stopped the vehicle with three of the suspects. After interviews by our Detective Jarrett he was able to identify three of our suspects.

They are still in jail at Memphis. We have warrants and will have them as soon as Memphis is done with them.”

Memphians, Lorico Woods, Roderick Johnson and Nautica Moore were being held at 201 Poplar on charges there with West Memphis warrants pending. The arrests delivered another testimony for the West Memphis Sky Cop surveillance network. The ransacking of the store took place in the shadow of one of the city surveillance cameras.

“The Sky Cops are an eyewitness,” said Langston. “They have proven invaluable for us.

We’ve used them a lot to solve an assortment of crimes. We have the city almost blanketed with them now, but we still want more cameras.”

The AT& T thieves acted like they knew about the surveillance inside the store but acted unaware of the Sky Cop as they put on masks and gloves outside the store.

“It’s part of the business of theft so they do what they can to disguise themselves, cover up and conceal their identity,” said Langston.

“People think coming over here across state lines, it’s going to be easy to commit a crime and go back. They think they are protected. They are not. This is a testament that it is not easy. It shows we have good working relationships with other agencies throughout the Mid-South. We all work together to solve crimes.”

By John Rech