Alleged thieves steal high-end vehicles from Lawrenceburg show room
LAWRENCEBURG, Tenn. (WKRN) – It’s one of the biggest thefts that longtime Lawrenceburg officers can remember.
Three expensive vehicles were allegedly stolen from a local dealership, including a brand new corvette driven right off the showroom floor.
News 2 has obtained surveillance footage of the alleged thieves and their thefts.
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Police Chief Terry Beecham told News 2 the three vehicles are worth more than $300,000. That includes a $148,000 brand new Z06 Corvette.
The heist happened at around 3 a.m. Friday, March 1.
Surveillance footage showed the suspects breaking into the Heritage Automotive Dealership.
Detectives said the men knocked in a window in the service bay, found a crow bar, and then went into offices where they found keys and license plates.
Video from the showroom shows the thieves backing the expensive 2024 Corvette out of the showroom.
According to police, the thieves also stole a 2024 GMC Sierra HD 2500 Denali pickup truck valued at close to $80,000. A 2022 GMC Yukon was also stolen.
“They busted a window out of the service lane where you bring your car in when you are getting it worked on, and once inside the building, used a crow bar to break into the lock box where the keys are,” Det. Jeff Renfro with the Lawrenceburg Police Department said.
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According to detectives, the suspects left the show room at 3:05 a.m. and were seen at a Giles County convenience store buying gas about 20 minutes later.
The driver of the stolen Corvette was covered head to toe, but police said a second thief, the man who stole the Yukon, walked in and showed his face.
“We had been told they could not get far. They only kept like a gallon’s worth of gas, maybe 20 miles worth of fuel in that Corvette,” Renfro said.
Interestingly, the thieves reportedly stole the Corvette with the top down and drove it with the top remaining down despite the cold temperatures that night.
“I don’t know if they didn’t know how to put the top up or he just wanted to ride with the top down,” a detective told News 2.
Police were able to track the thieves using OnStar until the tracking system was disabled.
“My guess is maybe they are taking these vehicles further south, maybe Georgia, and they are going to re-vin these vehicles and someone is going to think they are getting a real good bargain on them. Pretty sophisticated bunch, I believe,” Renfro said.
Later that same day, police told News 2 the Yukon was recovered in Birmingham, Alabama. It was found with a flat tire behind an abandoned house. Investigators swabbed the vehicle for DNA and submitted the sample to the lab for possible suspect matches.
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Meanwhile, the Corvette and pickup truck are still missing, as well as the three suspects.
Police are asking anyone with information to call the Lawrenceburg Police Department at 931-762-2276.
Investigators said the theft matches similar crimes at dealerships in West Tennessee.
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