Police: $30K in designer purses stolen from East Memphis store

Memphis police are searching for three men who broke into the luxury East Memphis clothing store Joseph in Laurelwood shopping center and stole an estimated $30,000 worth of designer purses, according to an incident report.

Memphis police responded to a burglary call at 418 S. Grove Park Road shortly before 5 a.m. July 5.

Officers found the right window had been smashed and glass was inside and outside the business. The metal security gate also had been cut, and police found bolt cutters on the checkout counter of the store.

When police reviewed the surveillance video they saw three males wearing black hoodies, white shirts and black pants going through the store and stealing an undetermined number of Prada/Chloe purses and other designer purses, according to the incident report. They also stole the cash drawer from the register, the report states.

A manager arrived on the scene and told police that he would have to do an audit to verify the exact amount of the items stolen, but said it would be more than $10,000, according to the report.

He told police that this is the third break-in at the store since May and June. In the May break-in, police estimated $47,000 in clothing and jewelry were missing from the store after thieves wearing hoodies smashed the front glass door.