Milan police need help to ID suspects in nonprofit thefts
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GIBSON COUNTY, Tenn, — A local nonprofit with the mission of helping those in need finds itself the target of thieves. According to Milan police, surveillance video from the Mustard Seed shows three suspects rifling through donations and taking anything and everything they wanted. Officers hope by looking at the video, you can help identify them. Officers believe the two men and one woman were driving a gray or silver Chrysler Town & Country minivan. Milan police estimate they stole about $500 in donated items last week from the 24-7 drop-off location. The Mustard Seed is a Milan nonprofit that provides food, clothing, shelter and utility assistance for those in need. It also runs a thrift store to help generate funds. Lt. Chris Vandiver of the Milan Police Department said the three suspects were at the Mustard Seed for such a short time they would have had to plan before the burglary. “They either had been by prior to this and tried to plan out what they wanted or they had done it before possibly somewhere else,” Vandiver said. Milan police said the three suspects pulled up to the Mustard Seed and immediately began to load donated items into their van. “In the video [security footage] they were there I’m thinking less than four or five minutes, and they take probably eight or nine different items,” Vandiver said. Vandiver said the suspects stole golf clubs, clothes and what appears to be a dryer or oven. Police say when they spoke with the Mustard Seed, employees said some of those items were being picked up the next day by people who needed them. “Somebody had called and said they were looking for a stove or a dryer,” Vandiver said. “Someone had already spoken for it, and they were coming back the next day to pay for it and pick it up.” Those who support the nonprofit believe stealing from the organization makes no sense because volunteers would have given them anything they needed if they had only asked. “It’s sad for the people that really need it, and that’s what they’re there for,” Milan resident Ken Gray said. Gray donates to the Mustard Seed every month to help those less fortunate. “The Mustard Seed is a big asset to Milan. Everybody appreciates what they do, and for somebody to take for it, it’s wrong,” Gray said. Milan police said there is a reward for any information that leads to an arrest. If you have information, call Milan police at 731-686-3309.
