BERRY HILL, Tenn. (WKRN) -- The Berry Hill Police Department is asking for the public's help finding the people who stole a company's expensive smoker late last month.

The incident happened during the early morning hours on Oct. 26. According to authorities, the suspects cut through a heavy chain, opened up the gate, and went right to the smoker like they knew exactly where it was.

"You wouldn't normally go back there; you wouldn't normally see what's back there because it's a locked gate," BHPD Sgt. Tony Russo said.

Once they got through the gate, the individuals reportedly drove an old white Chevrolet work van, as well as a red or burgundy Toyota Corolla, right to the smoker. Law enforcement quickly pointed out that their license tags were covered with what appeared to be opaque plastic.

"That tells me they put the covers on there because they've done it before and they knew what they were doing," Russo said.

The video shows the men quickly hooking up to the smoker and driving away less than three minutes later.

Police said the men are hard to identify, but the suspect vehicles may provide clues.

"That white vehicle is a work van, [with a] real dirty top on top of that. The driver's side does not have any windows besides the driver window. The passenger side has a few windows on that side. It has a hitch on it. It's an older Chevy work truck," Russo described. "Then you have that red Toyota Corolla. It's an older version Corolla. It does not have any hubcaps on any of them, so all black wheels on there."

Body camera footage from the next day shows law enforcement talking to company officials, revealing new details about the investigation.

Officer: "That feeds everybody, doesn't it?"

Employee: "I think it's a 16-foot trailer with a smoker. You can fit a whole pig in that smoker."

Officer: "Y'all feeding everybody in here."

Employee: "We use it probably five or six times a year."

The employee told the officer the suspects cut the locks, pulled up from behind the neighboring building, drove up to the smoker, and shut off their lights. Then, once they were done, the individuals reportedly pulled out and stopped to close the gate before leaving.

"This is a communal smoker, used by their business for all those employees, probably for holidays and birthdays and whatever, and it's now gone. That's kind of upsetting to the corporation," News 2's Andy Cordan summarized.

"Yeah, it's a very big smoker, very big warehouse back there. They have a lot of employees, always working hard, so they use it for whatever they can use it for," Russo replied.

If you recognize the van or the Toyota, or if you've seen the stolen smoker, you're asked to call the BHPD at 615-297-4701.

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/nashville/police-investigating-after-smoker-stolen-from-company-in-berry-hill/