Fort Smith police are looking for a truck they say was stolen from a local business and driven out through the door.
The Old Flanders building on Wheeler Avenue was plowed through with a Dodge diesel one-ton pickup truck early Sunday morning (Dec. 15), police said.
“When I looked at the cameras, there was a vehicle inside the building crashing into everything like bumper cars at a carnival,” said Richard Robertson, the truck's owner.
Tire marks outside the business stained the pavement as the suspect left the scene.
“The door was spread out and the gates were out in Wheeler Avenue right open,” said Robertson.
Robertson rents the building. He said the surveillance video and the damage left behind looked like something out of a movie.
“I was shocked,” he said. "It was like something you see on TV or on Hollywood shows.”
According to an incident report, the suspect or suspects unscrewed part of a wall on the building and squeezed into the business before their demolition derby started.
“I had an estimate for $3,000 and I think the door is $2,500 there is tons of damage inside plus the $4,000 truck so it just adds up,” he said.
As Robertson tallies up the damage, the question of how the truck made it through a boat trailer, the building and a locked gate is still up in the air.
“It’s a very distinctive truck,” he said.
Robertson said he believes a former employee of the business could be a suspect. A K-9 unit was also brought in while police conducted their investigation.
If you know anything about this burglary, you're asked to call River Valley Crime Stoppers at 479-78-CRIME.