NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Metro police are asking for the public’s help in locating a suspect accused of using a stolen U-Haul truck and a key fob to take hundreds of packages, including a TV, a bicycle, and even a refrigerator from two apartment complexes in The Gulch.
Police said the man targeted residents’ packages at both the Pine Street Flats and Harlowe Apartments in December.
According to detectives, the suspect posed as a U-Haul employee while unsuspecting customers returned their rental keys after hours. Officers added he even wore a U-Haul uniform during the crimes.
The elaborate scheme makes him more creative than your average porch pirate, and it’s something Metro police have never seen in the city before.
“This is a unique case,” Sgt. Brian Brown, a detective in the central precinct said. “We’re actively working the case with video surveillance hoping to get this individual identified.”
Neither police nor the two apartment complexes know how the suspect obtained key fobs to the complexes’ package rooms, however, he allegedly used the fobs to gain access to the packages.
Karsen Kolnicki’s parents have a unit in Pine Street Flats where they stay when they visit. Kolnicki told News 2 she started noticing thefts happening a couple of months ago.
She said she wouldn’t be surprised if she or other residents witnessed the crimes without realizing because of how the building is laid out.
“It’s definitely very concerning because since the parking garage is shared with a public parking garage, there are people going in and out on the same level as the package room,” Kolnicki said. “The level is on the first floor. That’s where we see people loading to move in and to move out, as well as deliveries from the nearby restaurants, so it’s definitely something that could happen in plain sight, and we would never know because it looks so normal to have a U-Haul there.”
The Pine Street Flats have set certain hours where residents can pick up their packages to prevent future theft, according to Kolnicki.
If you have any information about the suspect, call Crime Stoppers at 615-74-CRIME (7463).