Semis' Get Put on Blocks and Wheels Stolen; Could be Part of Cri - 12 News KBMT and K-JAC. News, Weather and Sports for SE Texas

WACO (KCEN) - It's a crime requiring tools and planning, and it's not the first time it's happened. About 35 thousand dollars worth of rims and tires were stolen right off five 18-wheelers at Rush Truck Center in Waco. The thieves came in sometime over the night prepared with the tools and the knowledge to pull it off.

The employees got to work at 7 am and found their barbed wire had failed them. Thieves had cut a hole in their fence, snuck in and jacked up 5 semi-trucks, stealing their rims and tires.

"We might have tires stolen, wheels stolen here and there. This, this took some doin'," said Sgt. Patrick Swanton with the Waco Police Department.

The owners were left with the wheel bolts, the trucks on wood blocks and tire tracks. And it seems to be part of a trend.

Another truck dealer, Waco Freightliner nearby in Lacey Lakeview, was hit the exact same way around Thanksgiving and on New Years Day. That dealer says it's getting either electric fences or infrared sensors for added security.

Down the street from Rush Truck Center, it bothers the people at Miller Mazda and Kia. Car salesman Mark Evans was a trucker for 15 years before he went to car sales.

"To me this just had to be inside job, someone who knew what they were doing, knew what to jack up, how to hook up the hoses, take the tires off,  had the tools for it," said Evans.

Police ask that anybody who thinks they may have seen suspicious activity at Rush Truck Center between the hours of 6 pm yesterday and 7 am today to please call Waco Crimestoppers. That number is (254) 753-4657.

Reporter/Photographer: Joshua Skurnik