Auto Shop Theft Caught On Camera, Police Searching For Suspect

Claremore police department is investigating a burglary at an auto repair shop. The owner says a fuel cell was stolen off his property over the weekend but was returned on Monday night.

The owner of Darin's Custom Auto Repair still wants to pursue charges against the man who came onto his property on Saturday and stole a fuel cell from one of his trucks. Even though it was returned, he believes it would be better to have this man off the streets.

Auto repairs show owner Darin Loudermilk had his young daughter with him when he left his business Saturday afternoon. He says within 5 minutes of driving off, a dark Jeep came onto his property.

Loudermilk says when he came out Monday morning to use his truck to push a vehicle into the shop he noticed that the fuel cell was missing. After he realized it was gone, he started sorting through security video.

You can see the Jeep first pull up, the driver then gets out to try the front door, once the suspect realized the truck was locked he settled on a fuel cell.

"There's nothing you can do and it makes it worse whenever you're watching the camera and it's already gone," said Loudermilk.

The video and some photos were posted on Facebook and within two hours, his friends identified the suspect.Loudermilk says he believes someone got in touch with the suspect and convinced him to bring the fuel cell back which was also caught on camera.

“He came back in, not driving the Jeep, driving a little pickup and I have video of him unloading it,” Loudermilk told News On 6. He hopes his security system will prevent future break-ins.

Claremore Police Department says if you know anything about this crime, call Crimestoppers at 918-596-2677 or submit a tip online.