Pueblo couple’s truck stolen months after moving to the Steel City
A couple who moved to Pueblo just three months ago received a rude welcoming when their truck was stolen last Thursday. The truck was taken right from their driveway on the 2700 block of N. Grand Avenue.
” I looked to my right where the truck should’ve been, and it was gone, ” recalled Kate Deffendall when she left for work, Thursday morning.
Sunday morning, Deffendall and her boyfriend Anthony Cisco’s 1996 Ford F-150 pickup truck was located just ten minutes away in front of a home on the 1700 block of E. 12th Street on Pueblo’s east side.
Social media played a crucial role in the couple recovering the truck.
Just hours after the truck went missing on Thursday a woman saw the truck near the Pueblo Community Health Center on the 300 block of Colorado Avenue. The woman recognized the truck from one of Deffendall’s Facebook posts asking the public’s help in locating it. She then took pictures and sent them to Deffendall .
The photos not only show where the truck was at the time but also two individuals, a man and woman, walking to and from the stolen vehicle.
Deffendall then posted the pictures to Facebook. Sunday morning, the woman seen in the pictures reached to the owners and said she didn’t know the truck was stolen but identified where the truck could be found.
” There was a crack pipe in there, and there was a ribbon. I’m assuming it was used to shoot up heroin, ” said Anthony Cisco the truck’s owner. ” There was also a broken piece of the mirror where you could see white powdery residue. ”
When the truck was recovered by the couple and police, there were a number of missing items including some tools. The truck is also in need of serious repairs after the carjacker used a screwdriver to start the ignition.
The truck holds sentimental value to the couple. Cisco’s grandfather passed it on to him when he passed away last year.
” In the back window it still has his parking pass sticker, ” said Cisco. ” I had a lot of memories in my grandpa’s truck. ”
It’s no secret that Pueblo has auto theft problems. According to a study done by Driving-Tests.org, Pueblo has the third most vehicles stolen per 100,000 residents among all American cities. The ranking is based on the city’s 2016-17 auto theft numbers.
Since 2013, auto thefts have been on a steady rise in Pueblo. More than 1,200 vehicles were stolen in 2017. However, that number actually dropped by more than 15% in 2018.
Neighbors say the home where the vehicle was found is like a fast food drive-thru, they see new cars out front every other day.
There is no person of interest in the case at this time, and the investigation is ongoing. The area of Pueblo where the truck was recovered is notorious for harboring stolen vehicles. Police say officers continually patrol the area for stolen vehicles.
The couple understands police in Pueblo are doing what they can, but Deffendall and Cisco are worried justice won’t be served.
” Car theft is such a big problem here, but if you don’t arrest anyone it’s just going to keep happening, ” said Deffendall .
