11 cars stolen in one night

Published 11:00 am Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Warren County investigator Chris Satcher dusts the door of a vehicle for fingerprints outside River City Auto Sales, 4440 Clay St., Tuesday morning after 11 vehicles were stolen from the lot overnight. (Justin Sellers/The Vicksburg Post)

Four vehicles have been recovered

Four vehicles have been recovered after nearly a dozen were swiped from a car lot on U.S. 80.

Just after 9 a.m. Tuesday, 11 vehicles were reported stolen from River City Auto Sales, 520 U.S. 80, Sheriff Martin Pace said.

“We have recovered four of the vehicles. One of them was found burned on Stenson Road. Two more were recovered behind a vacant house on Kolb, and a fourth was recovered off Warriors Trail,” Pace said.

Stenson Road is about 2.5 miles south of the dealership off Mississippi 27. Warriors Trial is about three miles south of the dealership. Kolb Road is about three miles north of the dealership off U.S. 61 North.

River City Auto Sales owner George Grey discovered the vehicles were missing and the office of the building had been ransacked as he was going to work Tuesday morning.

Warren County sheriff’s deputies respond to River City Auto Sales, 4440 Clay St., Tuesday morning after 11 vehicles were stolen from the lot overnight. (Justin Sellers/The Vicksburg Post)

“It was almost bare,” Grey said of how discovered the lot. “Right now we’re in shock.”

The cars are of various makes and models, and one was valued at about $10,000 Grey said.

Thefts from car lots are not uncommon, but typically a single vehicle is missing.

“We’ve had a few stolen, but not like that. I never even imagined that kind of number, but you have some people in this world who will do anything,” Grey said.

Keys were stolen from various places around the office, both Pace and Grey said. In addition to the keys, titles to every car on the lot, Grey said.

“They kind of knew something about the car business, if you know what I mean,” Grey said.

Warren County investigator Chris Satcher, from left, and sheriff’s deputies A.J. “Buddy” Holliday and Rodney Lehman talk outside River City Auto Sales, 4440 Clay St., Tuesday morning after 11 vehicles were stolen from the lot overnight. (Justin Sellers/The Vicksburg Post)

Pace declined to comment on specifics of the investigation other than to say his office was gathering clues.

“Sheriff’s investigators worked throughout the day and night following leads. We are following several leads. All of the vehicles recovered have been processed for fingerprints and DNA,” Pace said.

River City Auto Sales also sells storage buildings but “luckily they couldn’t carry one of those off,” Grey said.

Anyone with information about the auto thefts and burglary is encouraged to call Warren County Sheriff’s Office at 601-636-1761 or Central Mississippi Crime Stoppers at 601-355-8477. Callers to Crime Stoppers remain anonymous and do not have to testify in court.

Crime Stoppers will pay a cash reward of up to $2,500 for information leading to the arrest of a felony suspect or suspects.