The Colony police searching for man who broke into family auto dealership
THE COLONY, Texas - Police in The Colony are looking for a man who broke into a small auto dealership right before the holidays.
Surveillance video from J.C. Auto Sales on Main Street shows a man breaking the glass door of the business. He then gets inside and goes straight for the keys.
This break-in happened one week ago. The family business is hoping someone recognizes him and calls police.
December is busy season at J.C. Auto Sales, but a recent break-in has the family-owned business baffled.
Surveillance video shows a young man scoping out the dealership just past 10 p.m. on Dec. 15. First, he tried to break into a Kia for sale on the lot.
"He actually managed to break the handle," said Natalie Cantu, the owner’s daughter. "And then here you can see and up here, he used a prying tool to pry it open."
Thirty minutes later, the burglar threw a rock to shatter the front window of the business. He reached in, unlocked the door and walked inside.
The burglar flipped on the lights and headed straight to the collection of keys hanging on the wall but quickly gave up when he realized they weren’t car keys. Nothing was stolen.
"I guess he assumed the car keys would be there," Cantu said.
The Colony police are still searching for the man, now investigating fingerprints when the burglar tried to turn off the alarm system.
Cities across the United States are seeing a staggering increase in auto thefts. North Texas is no exception.
The city of Dallas alone saw nearly 20,000 stolen cars this year.
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Cantu says her father moved from Mexico to North Texas in the mid-90s. His dream was to start his own business, building it from the ground up.
"Having been here so long, he has a relationship with the community," she said. "Knowing that somebody would purposely harm his business and everything he has worked for, it’s disheartening."
The Cantus say they do not recognize the burglar and do not believe he was a customer.
The Colony says they are still investigating. No one is in custody.