EAST NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Nearly every other neighbor on the 800 and 900 blocks of Russell Street is in the same boat.
Over the weekend, at least 56 cars across East Nashville were broken into.
Metro Nashville Police say officers in East Nashville have received reports of break-ins, burglaries, or stolen cars from people on at least seven streets. Those streets include: Gallatin Road, Main Street, Woodland Street, Russell Street, Pennington Avenue, Dellway Villa, and Oakwood Avenue.
Two of James Tanner's three cars parked in front of his house now require repairs following the wave of break-ins.
"My wife and I... we started walking and were like, 'Oh my God, they got the whole street,'" Tanner said. "We sent out a mass text alerting the rest of the neighbors because we went out and looked and other neighbors had been broken into as well, and then everyone started looking at their cameras trying to piece it together."
Tanner's doorbell camera captured video of someone hopping out of a pickup truck and approaching his vehicle on Sunday around 4 a.m. On Russell, and across East Nashville, people have to park on the street in front of their homes because they don't have a garage or driveway.
"I had some tools in the back of my truck and there was a drill sitting in the passenger seat. They didn't even touch it. They just opened the console and didn't even look in the backseat," Tanner said.
While police piece everything together, unfortunately, neighbors are left footing the bill — paying hundreds for repairs.
"It was cold and raining. That seems to be a pattern. So we need a bigger police presence out here or license plate readers. Something to help prevent this," Tanner said.
Metro Police believe two or three men are behind the break-ins and they were in a newer, white extended cab Ford F-150.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at hannah.mcdonald@newschannel5.com.
This story by Aaron Cantrell reminds me of my first school in Dyersburg, TN. I was a student at Bruce School from Kindergarten to second grade until the school system was integrated. My parents graduated from this K-12 school in 1960 in one of the city's African American communities. After sitting empty for several years, part of the school was demolished while the rest was renovated and now serves as a community center for the Bruce community in Dyersburg. A local pastor is now trying to do something similar in the Cemetery community in Rutherford Co.
-Lelan Statom
