Alcenia's burglarized Sunday morning; suspect caught at the bus stop
Jan 05, 2025
MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- A Memphis staple is the latest business to be burglarized in the downtown area.
Alcenia's on North Main Street was targeted early this morning.
Now, the owner said she wants to see more done to reduce crime.
"Something else on your record for what," Alcenia's owner B.J. Chester-Tamayo said.
With the front door of her business broken into, Chester-Tamayo was met with a rude awakening on Sunday morning.
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Around 6:00 a.m., she said she got a call from her security company saying the restaurant had been burglarized.
"I got here it was like three police cars," Chester-Tamayo said. "I'm looking for my key thinking I'm going to have to get in the door but the door is like this."
Chester-Tamayo shared surveillance video of the entire incident.
"He took the bricks. He hit hit hit hit," Chester-Tamayo said. "Then afterward he took his behind and his feet and he kicked in the door. He slid under this. That's how this fell down. He went under the glass."
More surveillance video showed the suspect walking behind the counter, opening the cabinets, and then yanking out the cash register.
He then walked out of the building carrying the register, but he didn't get far.
"Because by me having the video, I don't know why he went to the bus terminal and sit at the bus terminal," Chester-Tamayo said. "So, they call me back and say we got him. He's sitting at the bus terminal."
The "he" Chester-Tamayo is referring to is 28-year-old Djibril Samassa.
Djibril Samassa. (SCSO)
According to Chester-Tamayo, Memphis Police called her less than an hour after the incident to inform her they detained a man less than two blocks away from her restaurant wearing the same clothes as the suspect.
"It hurts because you work hard. You do everything you can," Chester-Tamayo said. "I think in the 27 years (I've been here), this is the second time I've been burglarized."
Alcenia's is just one of the many businesses to be targeted by thieves.
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Now she says she wants to see action.
"Something has got to be done about crime," Chester-Tamayo said. "If he probably has a bond, in the next couple of hours, he's out. That's a problem."
Chester-Tamayo said it's too early to determine how much the damage will cost her, but she's not letting this incident bring her down.
"You know me, girl. I'm God's favorite child. Betty Joyce (inaudible) baby girl," Chester-Tamayo said. "I don't give up. Hallelujah!"
At this time, Samassa's bond information and the possible charges he will face are unknown.