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Food truck owners try to crime-proof their business following another theft

The owner of La Poblanita put a GPS tracker on their business and put a boot on one of the tires.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Early Friday morning, a Franklin County Sheriff’s Deputy pulled a car over and was taking down information when he noticed a pickup truck that drove by him was emitting sparks.

The deputy began to follow a truck that was hauling a food cart, that turned out to be stolen.

The cart had its brakes locked so the sparks were a dead giveaway to the deputy that something wasn’t right.

The driver ended up crashing at Taylor and Myrtle avenues in northeast Columbus after knocking off the driver side window of a parked car before crashing into a garbage can in a dead end. The sheriff's office said man and a woman were arrested. 

Since September 2021, five food trucks have been stolen in Columbus.

Credit: 10TV/WBNS

Detectives says its unclear exactly why they are being stolen.

One possibility is an attempt to sell the restaurant equipment inside for scrap.

It’s something the owner of La Poblanita food truck knows well.

Last December, someone drove off with his business while it was parked off Indianola Avenue.

“It's really devastating because you work your whole life doing this and somebody just takes it away,” says Manager Jesus Soriano.

Soriano says after his food truck was stolen, he installed motion cameras, security cameras and even placed boots on the tires to deter thieves from hitting his truck again.

10TV spoke with the Central Ohio Food Truck Association about the thefts.

It says stationary food trucks, as opposed to those that are mobile, are often easy targets for thieves and warn operators to lock their doors to the truck and their cars, and discourage them from parking them in public places unattended. 

The group also suggests placing an Apple air tag inside so the truck can be monitored 27/7.

As for Jesus Soriano, he says he was fortunate his truck was recovered the day after it was stoeln.

“The best case scenario is taking it home with you every night,” he says.

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