WILMINGTON — Todd Champion, the owner of Vittles food truck posted a Facebook video last week that has since reached more than 38,000 people asking the public for any information regarding a break-in that occurred last Thursday on the truck.
According to Champion, manager Ashley Houck discovered the break-in Thursday morning.
Although nothing of value was missing, Champion’s main concern was that the individual had more nefarious intentions than a simple robbery.
“I think they intended to turn this truck into a bomb,” Champion said.
Houck arrived Thursday morning to find the awning ripped apart and the inside of the truck ransacked. More alarming to Champion was Houck’s discovery of bleach and gasoline spilled throughout the truck, while the stoves had been lit and remained lit until they ran out of propane.
“This has escalated into several felonies at this point. We had CSI (crime scene investigation) out for several hours taking a lot of evidence in, we may have some pictures but I also wanted to reach out to all of you, to anyone that knows anything,” Champion said in his Facebook video.
Vittles food truck was parked next to three Poor Piggy’s food trucks and trailers off Oleander Drive, and the nearest truck was filled with four tanks of propane, according to Champion.
Champion also said he believes the perpetrator may have been previously familiar with the food truck’s surroundings — a former employee, perhaps, who knew how to turn on the gasoline and the stoves, an operation with a specific “sweet spot.”
Vittles has been broken into several times over the last few months Champion said, but he is unsure if break-ins that have occurred in the past are related to the most recent incident.
Mark Darrough can be reached at Mark@localvoicemedia.com
