JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2014 A Jacksonville food truck owner said thieves stole his entire livelihood on Christmas, wiping out months of hard work overnight.<\/p>\n
The theft happened sometime between Christmas Eve and Christmas morning at a food store on North Main Street, where the truck had been parked.<\/p>\n
The owner, Lorenzo Perez, said he is heartbroken after losing his only source of income. Perez has owned the food truck, La Perla del Norte, for just eight months. Because he does not speak English fluently, a friend helped translate during the interview.<\/p>\n
Perez says the truck was a major financial investment.<\/p>\n
>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<<\/a><\/p>\n Perez said the food truck cost \u201c around $13,000.\u201d<\/p>\n Without the trailer, Perez says he cannot operate the business at all.<\/p>\n He says the theft has affected far more than just his equipment, explaining that it has taken away his ability to support his family.<\/p>\n \u201cHe said basically they\u2019re destroying the family because that\u2019s how they,\u201d Perez said through a translator.<\/p>\n After discovering the trailer was missing on Christmas morning, Perez posted photos of it on Instagram, hoping someone would recognize it. The post quickly spread throughout Jacksonville\u2019s food truck community.<\/p>\n That outreach prompted help from another local business owner. Robert Germano, the owner of Trout River Food Park, said he saw the post on Christmas morning.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s what I woke up to Christmas morning was reading that you know his food truck has been stolen, and I was really upset about that,\u201d Germano said.<\/p>\n