TVs, fridge taken in hotel heist

Published 12:26 am Thursday, March 2, 2017

Brookhaven Police are seeking the public’s help locating a trio of alleged thieves who emptied a hotel room of its electronics and appliances.

One of the suspects shown on video surveillance is a black man, in his 50s, wearing shorts, a blue sweater, white ball cap, white socks and sandals, said Police Chief Bobby Bell. He has a gray, thin beard and white hair. He walks with a limp.

Bell said the man checked into the Holiday Inn Express in Brookhaven and booked two rooms using a Mississippi Department of Transportation account and signed the receipt as C. W. Shaw. Bell said the man allegedly showed no identification that matched an MDOT account and the name used appears to be bogus.

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“He went with an MDOT account but didn’t have a card or info so someone else had to approve it,” he said.

Bell said the man went to Home Depot and, based on video surveillance footage recovered from there, he purchased a drill. He returned to the room by entering the hotel by the rear stairwell located near at the rear of the hotel, Bell said.

Police believe another man and a woman assisted the suspect in the crime. “There was a female we know that was with them,” he said.

Bell said the man and his accomplices removed flat screen televisions from the walls of both rooms, both irons and a mini-fridge and microwave, Bell said.

Some time overnight, the subjects wrapped the merchandise in a “bedsheet” and exited through the rear stairwell carrying the items to a waiting vehicle, he said.

It’s not unusual to see thefts reported at hotels, but not of this magnitude. “They steal sheets, pictures, pillows. We’ve had some of everything stolen over the years,” he said.

To report information about the crime contact Brookhaven Police at 601-833-2424 or CrimeStoppers at 601-823-0150.