SAN DIEGO — A Bay Park man said his cargo trailer filled with merchandise was stolen from in front of his home Saturday morning. It was seen on video surveillance footage and now he wants the public’s help to catch the alleged thieves.
The thieves can be seen just casually taking this trailer off the street but what they didn’t know is that they were being recorded.
It’s happening more and more: brazen thefts caught on video, like the Bay Park incident recorded on Ring. Two men can be seen attaching a silver, cargo trailer to their red pickup truck at Greg Bechtol’s home around 5:30 Saturday morning.
“On the footage, we see two guys. They’re motioning for the truck to come back. They hook up the tailgate onto the tongue of the trailer and they drive off with it,” Bechtol said.
Bechtol said he paid about $4,500 for the trailer four years ago and used it to store and transport booth equipment and merchandise he’d sell at fairs and farmers markets. He said he used the trailer for multiple reasons but admits he didn’t have the trailer locked properly.
“It’s obviously greedy thieves that want to take advantage of people. They take advantage wherever they can, wherever the weak spot is,” Bechtol said.
He said he’s still trying to calculate the total loss of the items inside of the trailer. Bechtol also warns that thieves have learned how to blend in with everyday people, like delivery drivers and gig workers.
“These guys are kind of ‘in and out’ experts but they’re the thieves. So, we’ve become a little bit numb to this sort of stop-and-go traffic in our neighborhoods. It just makes it a little more comfortable for these thieves,” he said.
Bechtol said he’s glad he had the Ring video and he has made a police report. If anyone has any information about this incident, you can contact the San Diego Police Dept. at (619) 531-2000.