DoorDash driver accused of stealing art from condo building

A Memphis man was arrested after police said three framed artworks were taken from a Riverside Drive condo building by a delivery driver.

Austin Herman, 31, was arrested Saturday and charged with theft of property valued between $1,000 and $2,500, according to Memphis police and court records obtained by Urgent Matter.

Police said officers responded last Thursday to a theft in the 600 block of Riverside Drive. They were told that a male suspect had entered the building about 6 p.m. Wednesday to make a delivery.

“He took three framed artworks from the wall and left the building with them,” Memphis police said in a release. “He left in a gray sedan.”

The artwork was valued at $1,050, police said. The names of the artists and the artworks were not provided.

A police affidavit filed in Shelby County court identified the building as condos at 648 Riverside Drive. James Hutto, identified in the affidavit as the president of the condos, told police he noticed three paintings missing from the lobby wall and reviewed video footage.

Hutto “observed a DoorDash delivery driver steal the painting from the wall and leave the scene with the property,” the affidavit said.

The affidavit said Hutto spoke with a tenant who had received the delivery, and the tenant said the driver’s name in the app was Austin.

Investigators later tracked the vehicle used in the delivery through cameras in the area and identified a Tennessee license plate registered to Herman, according to the affidavit.

Hutto gave a recorded statement and identified Herman in a six-person photo lineup as the person he saw on video stealing the paintings.

Court records show Herman’s case was filed Friday as a felony arrest in Shelby County General Sessions Criminal Court. The docket lists the case as active and open, and shows Herman was released on his own recognizance.

A video arraignment Monday was continued and Herman has requested a public defender.

Follow along with other art crime stories at Urgent Matter’s art crime tracker.