investigators with the Memphis Police Department are still searching for about 22 suspects, some of them armed, who stormed a Walmart store in the 5200 block of Elvis Presley, south of Holmes Road, about 9 p.m. Sunday. The organized looters were clearly there specifically to steal merchandise.
Walmart cooperating with police
According to the report filed by MPD, “the suspects broke a window in the automotive section” of the Walmart store to gain entry. Once inside, they went straight to their desired targets.
“Speakers, flat screen TVs, shop vacs and car batteries” grew wings and flew away. They even snagged “two Black Panther scooters from the kid’s section,” along with other assorted loot.
All police in Memphis, Tennessee can say is the “group grabbed the merchandise and then took off out of the store.” Investigators relate that “the mass of shoplifters left the store in about 20 different vehicles.”
#RetailTheft #California https://t.co/RDMpcIroQe
— Kilgore Trout (@Kilgore73862013) November 19, 2022
They’re especially looking for specific “Infiniti, Dodge, Chrysler, and Kia models.” Walmart definitely has surveillance video of the incident but they aren’t talking about it or showing it around, yet.
As noted by the police report, one of the Walmart security force “recognized another suspect who they said came in through the front door, grabbed a speaker and threw it in a cart, then tried to leave.”
In hindsight, the move was meant as misdirection. The eagle eyed security guard “recognized the suspect from 201 Poplar.” When the suspect was cornered, he laughed that “he thought the others were gone now.” That’s when they learned it was “a ruse to escape.”
#Unicorn #MidletonVeryRare #Whiskey #Tasting
Unicorn Gets Police Escort to Festival of Midleton Whiskeys https://t.co/fyVsRUXgCK— Kilgore Trout (@Kilgore73862013) November 17, 2022
Troubled by what happened
Stephanie Sharp, with Walmart Media Relations, was quick to issue a statement declaring they are “troubled by what happened in our store Sunday evening and are glad no customers or associates were injured. We’ll continue working closely with local law enforcement on their investigation.”
They really don’t have too much else they can say.
Walmart isn’t the only retailer faced with out of control retail theft. One chain after another has been reducing hours and closing stores completely. For some reason, the problem is only happening in Democrat jurisdictions where they virtually decriminalized shoplifting.
#Killer #Tide #Shoplifting #RetailTheft #Californiahttps://t.co/aYO2cJ9fok
— Kilgore Trout (@Kilgore73862013) November 13, 2022
In California, for instance, they won’t prosecute anyone for a theft of less than $950 in value. They quietly consider it a form of unofficial “reparations.”
One particular recent incident underscores the challenges all retailers everywhere, including Walmart, are facing. San Bernardino County resident and part time murderer Geoffry Mwangi could hook you up with a killer deal on detergent.
When he went to the local Vons for a restock run, a cop bothered to run him for warrants. He had been on the run as a suspect in the November 18, 2019 killing of 16-year-old Ulysses Solis. “He’s been wandering around free as a bird while the police forgot all about the murder. The only reason he’s behind bars is because an alert officer of the La Verne police spotted him wheeling a cartload of Tide from Vons.” What caught the cop’s eye was “the store manager following” Solis out behind a shopping cart full of obviously pirated detergent.
