Over 30 TVs stolen from truck in Northeast Philadelphia: police
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Philadelphia police are searching for the suspects who stole more than three dozen TVs from a tractor-trailer. It happened while the driver slept inside around 1 a.m. in a Northeast Philadelphia industrial park.
A police detective is looking for evidence in the spot in Northeast Philly where a truck was parked overnight and someone broke in and stole TV after TV.
"I kept feeling something moving," James Goldsmith, a Fort Worth, Texas driver, said.
Goldsmith was sleeping in the cab of his semi when he woke up and noticed what was happening.
"I kind of dozed off. I got back up again, I could see a pickup truck parked behind me," he said."I got up and I said I got my box on. I better run back there or maybe I get shot or something. I said I'm calling the police and they took off down the street down there.
Sources say 38 42-inch TVs with a total value of more than $11,000 were stolen.
"I've been driving for 20 years. I've never had this happen to me," Goldsmith said. "Never, ever." "There were two guys on the back of the pickup truck, one guy driving. I looked over to the building toward my left, another pickup truck was going around with the TVs. I said, 'Oh my God.'"
Police say the TVs were expected to be delivered to an address listed for Almo Corporation, a business that distributes appliances, electronics and more. Almo didn't respond to an email seeking comment.
The truck was parked just feet away, the driver says he was resting until it opened.
"I deliver in the morning, 7 a..m.," he said. "And I said 'I'll be here when they get back in the morning.'"
Philadelphia police have been investigating a surging number of tractor-trailer thefts from this part of the northeast since the beginning of the year, according to sources.
Last month, chief investigative reporter Joe Holden reported on $200,000 worth of dimes stolen from a semi-truck near the Philadelphia Mills parking lot. That happened about two miles away from where the TVs were stolen.
Police have not answered Friday whether or not they're investigating a link between these two incidents.
But a short time after the TV thefts, state police pulled over a pickup truck and took the driver into custody. They say he's associated with the TV thefts.
Sources say his pickup had broken down before police found him but officers did not find any TVs in the back of the truck.
The suspect is expected to face theft criminal conspiracy and other charges. At this point, no one else has been arrested.