Car theft has been a problem for years in many cities, with the current upswing in rates starting back in 2019. But even among the worst places for these crimes, Memphis is up there. Still, it seems rather odd that on the same day two Infinitis were stolen at gunpoint, making us wonder if there’s a connection.
A Memphis woman’s stolen car was auctioned off by police instead of returned to her.
The first theft happened at Capital Grille on May 15. Memphis Police say the suspects arrived in a white Nissan Maxima, then broke into a 2021 Infiniti Q60 in the parking lot through the sunroof. Surveillance footage shows the person had an ignition programmer in his hand.
When the owner of the car approached after enjoying lunch, a second suspect pulled out a gun, pointing it at the victim.
Getting the car started, the first suspect took off, followed by the other two in the Maxima. We can almost guarantee the Nissan is also stolen.
Also on May 15, two armed suspects wearing masks approached a victim, produced guns, and proceed to commit and armed robbery. They used the man’s keys to take his 2017 Infiniti QX70. Just like in the other incident, surveillance footage shows the two suspects.
That footage also reveals that the armed robbers were dropped off in the area by two others in a gray Audi Q3. Surveillance cameras at a convenience store caught those two without masks on, so police are hoping someone can identify them.
We know quite a few car thefts, especially armed carjackings like these, are pulled off by organized theft rings. Oftentimes they specialize in certain brands of cars for whatever reason. They’re able to quickly and effectively hack into anything from that brand and know who to sell the boosted rides to. That’s why we wonder if all these suspects are perhaps from the same crime ring.
Thankfully nobody was hurt in these two Infiniti carjackings, but next time the victims might not be so lucky.
Images via Memphis Police Department/Facebook
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