WATCH the surveillance video on the Philadelphia Police Department's YouTube channel
Surveillance video recorded Friday night at 10:15 p.m. shows the man rummaging through tires in an outdoor lot of the Hunting Park Tire Shop in the 400 block of East Hunting Park Avenue.
Police say he gained access by climbing over a fence.
This is not the first time the shop has been targeted.
It would be an understatement to say that last week did not start well for the shop's manager, Pete Pizarro.
"Well, I got robbed Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday," he said.
New fencing and razor wire did little to slow down the thieves.
"He climbs the gate here," Pete said, showing what the bandits did, "threw them over, goes to the back and throws the tires over."
Some of that activity was caught on video: the jacks and the repeated theft of tires.
Friday night, Pizarro waited with binoculars and when the crooks returned, he called police.
Two men were arrested. The third is the man on surveillance video inside the lot. He got away.
Detectives are looking for a white or Hispanic male, 20-30 years old. He was wearing a dark colored jump suit with a hooded sweatshirt underneath.
So why steal tools, jacks, and used tires? Because they have value.
"He's taking 25-30 [tires] at a time, probably getting $10-$12 apiece on the street for them," said Pizarro.
Whatever the motive, it is a significant loss for a small tire shop.
Police are asking if you recognize the man in the video to call East Detectives and give them a name.
"I lose sleep, my guys out here, they have families to feed," said Pizarro. "It would be a shame to lay somebody off because I don't have tires to resell to the customers."
Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Buck at the Philadelphia Police East Detective Division, 215-686-3243/3244.
