Thief caught on surveillance stealing restaurant owner’s truck
Vehicle theft is a crime that is often committed in the Yuma area, but it’s not every day that the victim actually gets their car back.
However, one Yuma man, fortunately, has a different story.
Scott Brooks’ family has run the Brownie’s Cafe since 1946, so it’s like his second home.
Although most days are the same at the cafe, Brooks will never forget what happened on Saturday, June 8.
Brooks said it was at 12:07 p.m. when his Ford F-150 truck was stolen from the back of his restaurant.
” I came back in to do something and ended up staying in for another 15 minutes. Well, I didn’t lock the truck at that time. In those 10 minutes…[the thief] went from here, around back, and took [the truck], ” said Brooks.
Luckily, Brooks had recently installed a security system in the restaurant, which caught the thief in action.
Brooks recalls seeing the suspect on the surveillance saying, ” Look at how quick he does it. Walks right up to it, opens the door, jumps in, and see you later. Nobody saw him, that quick. ”
Within hours of reporting the incident to the Yuma Police Department, his truck was located just a mile away, outside of the Rio Santa Fe Apartments.
” I guess [Yuma Police Department] were doing a routine run around the apartment, they saw the truck because [the thief] hid it in a bush. They saw it, ran the plates, and boom, there it is, ” Brooks explained.
However, according to Brooks, the suspect left the keys in the ignition and locked the doors, but locked himself and all of his possessions out.
Brooks calls it karma.
Yuma police have yet to catch the suspect, so Brooks has taken to Facebook to get the community’s help to catch this thief.
His post has been shared 300 times, and he says, ” A lot of people are good people and want to catch the bad guy. So hopefully we do catch him. ”
Even though Brooks has his truck back, and in perfect shape, he still wants to know what possessed the thief to do such a thing.
If anyone has any information on the suspect in the video, please contact the Yuma Police Department.