CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A Corpus Christi man is out thousands of dollars after a thief stole the catalytic converter from his pickup truck in a wide open area in broad daylight, near a busy street and in less than a minute's time.
The man, who doesn't want to be identified over concerns the thief might victimize him again, says that's not all that was stolen.
“It’s a pretty hefty financial hit," he said. "The catalytic converter and a whole new exhaust system — it’s going to be several thousand dollars on top of all the fishing equipment that they took out of the bed of my truck as well. So I’m definitely out about three to five grand.”
His dashboard camera got a partial recording of the theft.
It shows a man walking up to the driver's side door of the truck that was parked off Yorktown Boulevard at Mud Bridge around 2 p.m. Monday. Seconds later, the sound of what was likely a power saw can be heard on the recording.
The truck's owner had left the area with a friend in that friend's truck to get more bait. He didn't know what was happening to his truck back at their fishing hole.
“By the time we got back, somebody had gotten to my truck and chopped off the exhaust -- took the catalytic converter," he said. "Whenever I started it, I could tell immediately by the way it was running."
That man is concerned that he's causing further damage to his truck by driving it without a catalytic converter. But he says it's his only way to get to home from work and back, so he will continue to do so.
He thinks getting his truck repaired could be a long process.
“I’m going to have to eventually try to get a police report and get with the insurance," he said. "And that takes time. So that’s going to put me down for a month or two at least."
He's hopeful that his video will help Corpus Christi Police catch the thief.
If you have any information that could be useful to them, call 361-826-COPS.
