SAN DIEGO -- A San Diego man is the latest victim in a crime trend that has left multiple victims across the country.
The Oak Park man, who asked we not use his name, showed 10News surveillance footage of two men stealing the tailgate from his Toyota Tacoma truck at around 2 a.m. on Nov. 4.
“One was opening the gate, one was unplugging some of the parts to it,” he said. “It’s your baby, so if anything happens to it, you definitely get upset, and at least want it to stop or spread awareness to it.”
He said the truck was parked outside of his Oak Park home when the crime occurred.
“It’s frustrating for something like that to happen in front of the house,” he said. “It’s just easy picking you know?”
Easy because many trucks are designed to have the tailgates removed. Thieves can sell them for hundreds of dollars as is, or for scrap metal.
10News did some research and found that a theft deterrent can come as cheap as $1. Auto experts said truck owners can place a hose clamp around the tailgate’s quick release. More expensive professional options are also available.
