NORTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - A Miami-Dade business owner is offering a sizable reward for whoever is able to help him find who stole four trucks from two of his businesses.
Surveillance captured one of the thefts on Dec. 28 at PSN Auto Center, located along Northwest 178th Street in Northwest Miami-Dade.
Two men wearing hoodies could be seen climbing into two tow trucks.
“They pried the trucks open, they started them, and they drove out with them,” said Tony Lopez, the owner of both businesses targeted as well as the four trucks that were stolen.
Lopez said he was on vacation when he received the disturbing call. “It’s disgusting. I don’t have to say it anymore. It’s horrible,” he said.
Lopez rushed home to his business to find the gate broken and the tow trucks gone. “They steal the interiors, the rims, the lights, the grills, the mirrors,” he said. “They strip them down and then they just abandon them.”
To make things worse, on the same day, two pickup trucks, a Ford F-250 and F-350, were stolen from the second business, Done Deal Auto Sales, also in Northwest Miami-Dade.
“One of them is valued at $20,000, and the other one is valued at $12,000,” said Lopez.
Thankfully, his two tow trucks were found the next day abandoned in Hialeah.
Now, Lopez said, he is on a painful mission to find his two missing pickup trucks. He is relying on a surveillance close-up to track down the two men responsible for the crime.
“In the middle of Christmas and New Year, how these bandits come into your business,” he said. “I worked 20 years to where I’m at. For somebody to set me back a couple years in minutes, it’s just disgusting.”
Lopez is offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to the thieves’ arrest.
Police have not specified whether both thefts are related.
If you have any information on these vehicle thefts, call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for the aforementioned reward.
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