INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — Passing by East 24 Highway in Independence, you’ll see ABC Auto Sales.
“We're just a small mom and pop shop,” ABC Auto Sales owner, Angela Crawley said. “Everything we've got, we worked hard for.”
Now, this family has to work even harder after someone came in and stole from their lot.
“When you steal something or destroy property, you take something from that person -- and something from that person that you can't get back,” Crawley said.
After surveillance captured what happened, Crawley went to social media.
“I immediately put it on Stolen KC,” Craley said. “He broke out the window, tore the dash to steal the radio out, not only did we have to find another radio, we had to repair the dash.”
Crawley and her family have owned the lot for 20 years.
“When we started here, we very seldom had any problem and now it's almost continuous,” Crawley said.
They’ve already had three thefts this year.
Just within the past month, ABC Auto Sales has seen between $4,000 and $5,000 in damage.
Independence police say car thefts are a common problem and urge residents and business owners to be alert.
“Securing the lot is a really big thing, having some sort of gated access to keep those things secure,” Officer John Syme said. “Of course they shouldn't have any valuables in them to begin with because it's not a target for thieves.”
Crawley is hoping someone takes responsibility for their actions.
“You're not taking from some big banker, you're actually taking from me and my family and that hurts,” Crawley said
Independence police are still looking to identify that person in the video.
If you have any information, call police.
Syme says if you do have a security camera at your home or business, you can register online with the department through its new community camera program.
