Anyone who's been the victim of a crime knows just how vulnerable it can make you feel.  

Now, take that feeling and multiply it by two and you'll know how Barry Radu and his staff at Destination Cycle in Airdrie feel.

The business has had the same costly item stolen from the same truck twice in under a year.

Last week the complete exhaust system was sawed off a 2013 Ford F-350 truck.  The first time it happened was in January of this year when the truck was parked in the front parking lot of the business.  At that time the store's security cameras showed a vehicle driving up at around 4:00 am and someone jumping out and then back in 30 minutes later with the exhaust in hand.

Radu says this time the truck was secured away in a locked compound behind the business.  On Thursday (November 29) morning his son went to start the vehicle remotely and knew right away something wasn't quite right because the vehicle was very loud.  It was a sound he recognized immediately, explains Radu.

"He recognized the sound and shut the truck off.  He went to the truck, crawled underneath and our full exhaust system, basically from the motor to the back of the truck had been sawed off.  All the wires for the computer had been cut off and it was gone."

Radu says the cameras didn't show anything this time around and, since the truck hadn't been used in four or five days, he isn't sure exactly when the theft occurred.  

"Ever since we got it fixed in January, we put it in the back with the thought that nobody would go into the fenced compound and do the same thing.  I guess we were wrong."

For the January theft, Radu went through his insurance to get it repaired.  He says the cost of that was $11,000 with a $1,000 deductible.  This time he says his rates would go up too much for a second claim so he'll be swallowing the whole cost.

"What we're doing this time is we're putting a system on the truck called a delete and it eliminates the catalytic converter which is the piece of equipment that thieves are after.  Just the catalytic converter is worth $5,000 and when they take it to a salvage place I've heard the get anywhere up to $500 for that part they cut off my truck.  We're putting on something that isn't worth stealing anymore.  Out of pocket, it's going to cost me close to $3,000 this time plus the $1,000 last time is $4,000 I'm out of pocket on the two thefts plus all the downtime for the business."

Radu is warning other diesel truck owners in Airdrie to watch out for thefts of similar nature.  He says the incident have left him feeling very vulnerable.

"I work hard for my money, the guys in my shop work hard for the money.  It's not a good feeling.  It's just not.  It's a bad sign of the times in my mind because mine isn't the first truck and it's not the last one.  This is happening to so many people and we're all paying for it, even though I claimed it on insurance the first time, we still pay for it in the end.  Other businesses still pay for it.  I don't feel good about it at all.  It's not good."

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