A Garland e-retail business owner helping the Turkish American Association of Northern Texas collect donations for earthquake victims in Turkey has become the victim of theft.
Esh Selvi’s truck was stolen around 5 a.m. from his warehouse on Shiloh Rd. last Tuesday.
“We were using the truck to collect the donations because not everybody can bring the donations here,” Selvi told NBC 5 DFW. “It was crucial. I mean, yesterday, we couldn’t collect any tents, for example. A couple people will sleep outside because of those two guys.”
Video footage shows the suspects’ truck pulling into the parking lot between two U-Hauls where Selvi’s vehicle was parked.
One suspect exited the passenger side of the truck, entered Selvi’s truck, and then both vehicles were driven away.
Selvi’s truck is a tan 2006 Chevy Silverado 1500 with black stripes on the doors.
“The truck was locked, and I had the only key. I don’t know, I think they’re some kind of professionals,” said Selvi, per NBC 5 DFW. “Just took them 60 seconds to get into the truck and start it.”
Selvi filed a police report with the Garland Police Department, but he doesn’t believe his insurance company will cover the theft.
Selvi told NBC 5 DFW that he is more upset that the theft has hindered collection efforts.
“We need the truck here today to collect the items; that’s what we need right now, I don’t care about the money for now, just something later, but right now we just need to collect items and supplies and get them ready for Turkey,” said Selvi.
DFW continues to see high rates of crime, including vehicle theft.
In 2021 Dallas saw nearly 12,000 motor vehicle thefts. In 2022 the number climbed to 13,398, according to the Dallas Crime Analytics Dashboard. So far this year, the city has recorded 1,811 motor vehicle thefts, outpacing last year at this time by 1.9%.