Tennessee news affiliate WSMV is reporting that Mt. Juliet police are now dealing with the biggest one-time theft they have ever seen.
"We have not seen a large amount like this," said Lt. Tyler Chandler with the Mt. Juliet Police Department.
As the number of construction sites grow in Middle Tennessee, so do the number of crimes.
In Mt. Juliet this year alone, $55,000 worth of construction equipment was stolen from two sites.
Lifestyle Communities was hit the hardest on Friday night.
Eleven brand new stoves, six washing machines, four dryers and four refrigerators were stolen from ground floor units totaling $12,000.
A month earlier at Glass Creek Apartments just minutes away from Lifestyle Communities, a refrigerator, a stove, six aluminum doors and a utility trailer were stolen.
"It's not random, it's planned out. They go in with large vehicles, they know what units to select that have the stuff installed and that is what they take," Chandler said.
Police said the criminal may be someone well-versed in construction, but they don't know where these appliances are going.
"They could be pawned, they could go to a used appliance store, they could be sold as a personal transaction, or even shipped out of the country and sold there," Chandler said.
National statistics show there is less than a 10 percent chance that stolen appliances will ever be returned to the owner.
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