HOUSTON – A business owner is trying to get back on track after thieves were caught on camera taking items from his food truck before hooking up the trailer and driving away.
“It makes you feel not betrayed but almost just dirty. We bust our butts and work really hard. I’m here 70-80 hours a week every day. I quit my job for this. I have no life anymore. This is my life and for someone to come and at least attempt to take all that away from me is really disheartening,” Dustin Landry said.
But it didn’t take authorities long to locate the trailer. The thieves left the GPS tracking device on the back of the truck.
“This is kind of our first look today of what the damage is,” Landry said.
On Thursday, Dustin spent the afternoon cleaning up what was left of his food truck.
“Oil is everywhere. A lot of our equipment is broken and falling off,” he said.
Landry is one of the owners of a new and popular food truck called UpDog HTX.
“We do gourmet hot dogs, hamburgers, tots, and fries. We try to keep it simply with great American food,” he said.
But now, he has to pump the breaks after thieves paid him a visit and they wanted more than food.
“It’s kind of crazy. The whole story is just wild,” he said.
Surveillance video from Tokyo Joes, a popular shot bar on Beall Street that Landry works with, captured a white SUV pulling into the parking lot early Tuesday morning. Two people got out.
“What shocked me the most was how cavalier they were about it. They pulled in, walked around the truck like it was theirs,” Landry said.
After several minutes, the pair can be seen putting things in the trunk before latching up the trailer and driving off. The situation got a lot worse.
“They ripped off our license plate and up there is that great ole’ Houston GPS that saved us,” he said.
Deputies in Harris County tracked the stolen trailer to a parking lot in Tomball. They arrested Ohajai Scott and charged him with theft. Dustin said the thieves pulled off the brake system, scratched off the VIN number and damaged the sides of the trailer.
“They ripped off all of our signs, our menus, all of our digital printed stuff… all of that got ripped off. They took all of our cameras out, our electronics and POS systems. Our tablets for DoorDash, Uber Eats and all that stuff was taken. All of the food was missing,” he said.
The setback put his business in a pickle but the community is already helping out.
“There’s actually a business in Katy called NBD Graphics. They do embroidery and digital printing. They do all kinds of fun stuff. They’ve actually donated the menu and all of the signs that need to be replaced,” he said.
Landry said he is working to get back up to code with the City of Houston and waiting to hear back from his insurance company.
He plans to open in a few days but needs help from the community. If you would like to help or make a donation, click this link for his Instagram page, “UpDog HTX.” You can find more information in the bio.
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office also arrested a second person for a parole violation.