Media

Deputies Arrest Suspects Involved in Vehicle Thefts and Identify Fraud

Release Date: March 8, 2006

Shelby County Deputies have arrested two people who they believe burglarized as many as five vehicles and then used credit cards taken from the vehicles.

Investigators arrested Cleveland Brown, 50, and Tammara Davis, 34, both of Memphis.

Cleveland Brown	Tammara Davis

About nine o’clock on the evening of March 2nd, the couple attempted to use a stolen credit card from one of the vehicle burglaries at a Chinese restaurant on Winchester Road.

The credit card belonged to Gloria Hughes, 53, of Memphis, who earlier that evening had reported her purse stolen from her vehicle, which had been burglarized at Shelby Farms near the walking trail at Patriot Lake along Walnut Grove Road.

As Ms. Hughes was talking to deputies about the vehicle break-in, her credit card company called to say that someone had just attempted to use the card at the restaurant.

Deputies contacted the restaurant clerks who indicated Brown and Davis as the two who tired to buy their dinner with the card.

Deputies contacted Memphis Police officers who detained the couple. Once at the restaurant, Deputies with the Patrol Division and the Sheriff’s ALERT Squad, took both of them into custody. The ALERT (Area Law Enforcement Retailers Team) Sqaud investigates counterfeiting, fraud, shoplifting and stolen merchandise cases.

During the course of the investigation deputies believe the two broke into four other cars on the same night as when Ms. Hughes’ vehicle was burglarized.

Three of the break-ins happened at Shelby Farms, the other one occurred at an Exxon Station at the corner of Walnut Grove and Humphreys Boulevard.

Ms. Hughes has posted a $1,000 reward for the return of a 250 G Maxtor external computer hard drive that was also taken from her vehicle. Pictures stored on the hard drive were of her mother’s funeral.

There were also other items stolen including Ms. Hughes’ Agfa E-Photo digital camera, storage disk, Blackberry device and Nokia cell phone.

Anyone with information about the external hard drive or other vehicle break-ins that might have involved Cleveland Brown and Tammara Davis, should call the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office Detective Bureau at (901) 545-5600 or Crime Stoppers at (901) 528-CASH (2274).

Cleveland Brown and Tammara Davis have each been charged with 5 counts of motor vehicle burglary, 14 counts of fraudulent use of a credit card, and 3 counts of identity theft.