Ellington

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A flatbed tow truck in Jackson is stealing area cars, the Jackson Police Department reported at its weekly crime meeting today.

"We're experiencing a problem on Interstate 220 with a wrecker," said Precinct 3 Commander Ronald Simpson. "When a car breaks down, the owner leaves their vehicle. When they come back, it's gone."

Simpson said witnesses have reported a white wrecker with dark tinted windows cruising up and down the highway, occasionally with vehicles in tow. The truck, Simpson said, has no distinctive markings identifying it as a business-owned vehicle. Last week, the flatbed wrecker stole three vehicles while owners were off trying to rent a wrecker and decide which mechanic they wanted to use.

"Hopefully we'll get lucky and get a chance to get the guy," Simpson said. "It's a newer model wrecker, probably 2005 or 2007. Be on the lookout for it."

Precinct 4 Commander Kenneth Goodrum said surveillance cameras at Regions bank on State Street had captured footage of another wrecker attempting to make off with the bank's outdoor ATM. The driver apparently underestimated the staying power of an ATM's massive anchor bolts, however, and wound up leaving a portion of their truck at the attempted crime scene.

"He hooked his chain to the ATM, took off and snapped his tow cable. He lost four feet of tow cable and just left it there," Goodrum told the Jackson Free Press.

The commander said surveillance footage depicted a light brown or tan older model flatbed truck. Goodrum could not describe the year or model.

Precinct 1 will be assembling undercover sting operations at several apartment buildings in south Jackson, in response to a rash of burglaries.

"We've spoken with apartment managers to get everything worked out, and we're setting something up because something's going on." Precinct Commander Donald Gator told Deputy Chief Lindsey Horton and other members of the JPD command staff this morning.

The police department reported a total of 273 major crimes during the week of June 7 to June 13, compared to 243 reports last week. That figure is similar to crime stats last year at this time, with 268 incidents reported in 2009.

Deputy Chief Lindsey Horton said the police department made 6,135 arrests for the year and issued 62,032 tickets.