Exclusive: Storage theft victim says "American Dream" stolen; video shows person of interest
OAKLAND PARK - A beleaguered Broward woman is speaking out as she says her dream "was shattered" when her new $40,000 food truck was stolen from a storage facility.
CBS News Miami has obtained exclusive new surveillance video of a person of interest in that crime and other thefts from the same business.
Robertha Jean-Philippe says the food truck that she had hoped to open for the Christmas holiday season was stolen at 1:51 p.m. on Monday of last week and she has released surveillance tape to CBS News Miami's Peter D'Oench that shows her truck being taken from Prime Storage, at 1100 N.E. 45th St., by someone driving a pickup truck.
Jean-Philippe said, "I am an immigrant and I am hoping to live the American dream of opening up a business and serving delicious coffee and baked goods and on December 4th my dream was shattered when that trailer was stolen."
She said, "It was devastating and I cried for 3 days. I am getting a little emotional right now. I put so much work in to this and this was not an overnight thing. I worked 2 1/2 years and I worked extra hours and gave up certain things and denied myself certain things so I could put money towards this truck. This was like more than two years in the making and it was gone in a couple of minutes."
Jean-Philippe said, "I felt violated that somebody would be so eager to take someone's stuff with no remorse and no regard for how hard this person worked."
Jean-Philippe also showed CBS News Miami photos of her truck and video from inside it as well. She also released surveillance tape that shows a man at Prime Storage by a pickup truck and two jet skis. And the Broward Sheriff's Office says that man is a person of interest in the theft of the food truck and two jet skis on December 4th as well as the theft of an RV on Friday of last week. BSO says it believes the same person or persons are responsible for all of the thefts.
D'Oench asked Jean-Philippe "What would it mean to you to get this food truck back?"
She replied, "It would mean a lot to me because there is so much work that I put in to this. I don't know how much longer I will be able to work on food trucks."
She said, "I hope someone will recognize the person in the video and can help find whoever did this and the other crimes and find whoever stole this and I hope this will put more attention on storage places where we hope everything would be more secure."
CBS News Miami reached out to Prime Storage in person and by telephone but did not hear back from the facility.
BSO spokesman Carey Codd said so far no one has been arrested.
He said on Friday, December 8th, deputies responded to a delayed report of the theft of the trailer and the two jet skis that were stolen on December 4th. He said on Saturday, December 9th, deputies "responded to the business again to investigate the theft of an RV that occurred the evening before."
Anyone who can help is encouraged to call the BSO Oakland Park district at (954) 202-3131 or submit a tip through the SaferWatch app. If tipsters want to remain anonymous, they can contact Broward Crime Stoppers at (954) 493-TIPS (8477) or online at browardcrimestoppers.org. Tipsters can also dial **TIPS (8477) from any cellphone in the United States.