PUEBLO — The Pueblo Police Department has found a stolen white Ford pickup truck, which they believe has been connected to a burglary ring in the city.
"We've chased them a few times. Up to this point, we haven't been able to capture them yet. These guys are very bold when it comes to evading the police," said Sergeant Frank Ortega with the Pueblo Police Department.
Passkey Restaurant on the South side of Pueblo captured surveillance video of the car-in-question on November 23, when someone broke into the store around 12:00 pm.
"Owning your own business is hard as it is, and then to add this on top of things... Sometimes people feel violated and it's discouraging," said Luke Fleckenstein, Owner of Passkey Restaurant on Northern Avenue in Pueblo.
Another business in town says they were broken into in the early hours of November 23 as well, posting pictures of a similar truck from their surveillance camera.
"When these criminals obtain a vehicle that they can utilize to further their criminal activity, they're going to do that," said Ortega.
According to the PPD's 2020 Annual Report, "940 vehicles were reported stolen, which was a 13% increase over 2019".
As the days grow colder heading into winter, the PPD warns car owners not to leave their car running to heat up, and not to hide spare keys for their vehicles, saying "criminals know where to look".
Maggie's Candy Kitchen and Bakery told News 5 they have had two break-ins this week, and say several of their neighboring businesses had break-ins as well. They cannot confirm whether or not these break-ins were connected to the suspicious white truck.
Passkey's location on Hwy 50 was also broken into, but say their surveillance equipment was stolen.
On December 2, the Pueblo Police Department announced that they found the vehicle "through the assistance of our wonderful community and watchful eyes."
If anyone has any information about these cases, please contact the PPD or Pueblo Crime Stoppers.
