Over 30 vehicle break-ins at Mud Island apartment complex in a matter of hours

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - Windows smashed, and cars were ransacked.

Many Memphians are falling victim to a city-wide crime wave targeting their vehicles.

Thefts from vehicles also saw a massive increase in the first half of this year.

One local apartment complex had dozens of vehicles hit in a matter of hours earlier this week.

Neighbors at the Riverset Apartments on Mud Island tell Action News 5 this isn’t the first, second, or third time they’ve been hit by thieves breaking into cars.

“It seemed like a war zone going on,” said resident Jesse Perez. “There’s glass everywhere. Like all over the street, there was glass.”

Jesse Perez has lived at the complex for about a year and says break-ins have happened monthly.

Monday morning, someone smashed the windows on more than 30 vehicles and rifled through them.

“I’m getting a new car can we have this actual weekend and I am very nervous about it because it’s going to be a decent car, and I just don’t want to have my window broken for no reason.”

The Memphis-Shelby Crime Commission says major property crimes like burglaries, motor vehicle thefts, and felony thefts increased in the first half of 2022.

There were over 3,600 motor vehicle thefts countywide in the first half of the year. It’s an increased theft rate of over 39% in Memphis and 36% in the county overall.

The Commission also says much of felony and motor vehicle thefts appear to be driven by the search for guns in vehicles.

Site Security Supervisor Donald Williams with JW Security and Investigations does weekend patrols at a downtown Memphis apartment complex and other businesses.

“It’s like a plague has hit the city,” said JW Security & Investigations Site Security Supervisor Donald Williams. “There’s constantly things are going on that’s bad, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel.”

Williams says phones have been ringing off the hook in the last three weeks for their services.

Besides locking your car, taking valuables with you, and being vigilant, Williams says it’s important to have some kind of presence wherever you live or work.

Williams says when they first started patrols at the downtown apartment complex,

“Why is this happening? We’re not being vigilant, and we’re not watching, and we had to make sure the cameras, people, and the residents are all in it together just like a neighborhood watch team.”

Perez says he hopes to see more security where he lives.

“I’d like to see a gate,” said Perez. “I’d like to see cameras. I’d like to see security be heightened.

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