MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Hickory Hill apartment complex is singing the praises of the Memphis Police Department after they recovered nearly a dozen air conditioner units that were stolen last week.
The air conditioner units were found because they were equipped with AirTags, a type of tracking device.
Last Thursday, Memphis Police received a call about an armed person at a house in the 2900 block of Watson. When they arrived, they didn’t find the suspect, but they found the complainant, who said they saw two men dropping off air conditioner units in the backyard of a home.
According to a Memphis Police report, MPD officers documented the serial numbers of four air conditioner units that were believed to be stolen and discovered them in the backyard of a home on Watson near Getwell and Cottonwood.
Hours later, just after 2 p.m., Memphis Police responded to the 1200 block of Marble Ave., where they were flagged down by an employee of an apartment complex, who told them nine AC units were stolen from the complex off Knight Arnold. They were tracked to the Marble Ave. warehouse using the technology of Apple AirTags that were placed on at least one of the air conditioner units.
“Police can’t do everything, can’t be everywhere at once, so...AirTags is a great idea," John Covington, Vice President of the Memphis Police Association, said.
According to the police report, when officers began their investigation at the Marble Ave. location, they saw what appeared to be the same SUV that was at the house on Watson.
Investigators said it was backed into the Marble Ave. warehouse with its tailgate open. When investigators entered the warehouse, they say they discovered at least 4 smashed air tags and at least 12 stolen air conditioner units, including the units stolen from the apartment complex.
“Work with the police. Let’s tackle this together. Even the small things people can do that’s gonna help,” Covington said.
Francisco Landaverde was arrested and charged with theft of property. He is out of jail on $20,000 bond and is scheduled go before a judge on July 29 for a bond hearing.