Shelby Co. Criminal Court Clerk has car stolen, one of already 3,100 on the year

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - Vehicle crime continues to be a problem in the Bluff City.

According to Memphis police, 3,101 vehicles have already been stolen on the year, an average of over a thousand a month.

The latest victim of this crime is Shelby County Criminal Court Clerk Heidi Kuhn.

Sunday afternoon, the sun still out, Kuhn pulled into the Shell on South Germantown Parkway, next to Shelby Farms Park.

“I go to this gas station all the time. I was right in the middle. I thought I was safe,” Kuhn told us Monday.

It was busy, according to Kuhn, making a vehicle theft more bold of a crime.

“Me and the gentleman next to me, we were kind of looking at one another. We realized there was a car in between us, which we thought was quite odd,” Kuhn described. “Before I knew it, I turned a little bit, looked down, and there was a man with a mask getting into my car.”

Documents acquired from MPD tell us two cars, a black Infinity and Nissan, with four suspects in total, pulled into the gas station.

The keys were in Kuhn’s purse in the passenger seat.

Her 2018 Audi has a push-to-start, and the keys were close enough for the thief to start the car.

Kuhn said she actually preferred this because she didn’t know if the thieves had weapons.

“They took off, even with the hose still in the car, so gas was going everywhere,” Kuhn said. “The man that saw it was yelling because he had gotten one of the car tags, and he was yelling the tag out loud.”

Fortunately, Kuhn’s phone was in the car, and police were able to track it to the Lynnfield Place Apartments six miles away.

The car was recovered just two hours after being stolen.

“When it happens to you, it becomes your reality, and I would just tell people to stay vigilant and stay safe,” Kuhn said. “Do what you can to make sure that you go home in one piece because material items can be replaced, but human life cannot be.”

Kuhn also gave praise to the strangers who stepped up to help her, from those on the scene who checked on her and helped take down car tag numbers, to the anonymous stranger who found and turned in her purse.

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