MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A man who stopped at a Pull-A-Part on Lamar Thursday morning to buy a part for his wife’s car ended up losing his truck.

Tony Watkins said while he was inside the business, someone stole his 2006 Chevy Silverado from the parking lot.

“They came in, and they circled the parking lot twice, a red GMC pickup, about 2003-2006, and when they circled the second time, I was parked on the outside edge on the last row of spaces. They passed my truck, and then they back up on the driver’s side,” said Watkins.

Surveillance video from the business shows individuals breaking into Watkins’s blue pickup truck and driving off in the vehicle in about twenty seconds.

“They think that model was pretty good for popping the ignition key and using a screwdriver to start it up,” said Watkins, “One of the people there did say that model was a popular model, and they were stealing a lot of them.”

Watkins, who is a roofer, also lost some of his work equipment, including a silver toolbox and an air compressor. The 62-year-old is raising three granddaughters with his wife and said while it’s a big loss, he’s just glad he was able to come home to his family.

“Nobody wants to be violated like that to begin with, especially when you work hard for things, but on the other side of the coin, I’m grateful I wasn’t assaulted or injured because at least every week, you hear something on the news about someone getting their car stolen and being shot,” Watkins said.

According to the Memphis Data Hub, so far this year, there have been 12,787 car thefts in the Memphis area. That compares to 7,924 over the same period in 2022.

The suspects were in a red four-door GMC pickup, Watkins said may also be stolen.

If you have any information that can help police locate the trucks, call CrimeStoppers at (901) 528-CASH.