Male suspected in vehicle pieces theft at UT garage tries to address his tracks by spray-portray automobile, police say

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Memphis police say a guy painted his complete auto with black spray paint and attached travel-out tags to stay away from detection, but that didn’t halt an officer from connecting the motor vehicle to a new automobile component theft in the Healthcare District.

MPD said Steven Reynolds, 29, was arrested soon after an officer on regime patrol spotted his car in the parking whole lot of the Motel 6 on Pauline Avenue.

The officer reported he saw Reynolds attaching a push-out tag to a 1996 Toyota Avalon and found the motor vehicle had comparable markings and scratches as an Avalon utilized in a catalytic converter theft in the Hamilton Eye Institute garage previous Tuesday.

College of Tennessee cameras captured the car or truck.

Police mentioned Reynolds advised them he had just procured the Avalon and bought the generate-out tags from an individual being at the motel.

Police stated the Avalon appeared to be freshly painted with black spray paint, and they discovered battery-operated slicing tools in the back of the car or truck.

Officers reported they found other burglary tools inside of his motel area.

Police claimed that the surveillance movie provided by Motel 6 also showed Reynolds driving into the motel ton a handful of minutes following the theft at the UT parking garage. The garage on Madison is significantly less than a 50 %-mile absent.

After Reynolds was taken into custody, law enforcement say he admitted he had stolen catalytic converters in the past, but reported he did not steal the one particular at the UT garage.

Catalytic converter thefts have been on the rise across the state. The robbers are following the valuable steel inside, worth up to $1,200 an ounce.

The charge for the target to replace the catalytic converter is about $1,500.

Reynolds has been billed with theft of property and altering, falsifying, or forging car plates.