Police searching for man who stole PDHS band truck

News Channel 3 has obtained surveillance footage showing Palm Desert High School’s Aztec Band truck driven off campus in the middle of the night.

The brazen theft was caught on school security cameras in the early hours of Sunday, November 2.

“You can see an unidentified person walking along various places on the campus, trying looking for a way in, walking around and then you see the truck driving off campus,” said Mary Perry, public information officer for Desert Sands Unified School District, describing the video.

The truck, a 2003 White Ford F250, marked with a DSUSD sticker, was used by the band to haul a 10-thousand pound trailer carrying musical instruments and equipment to performances.

“I think it’s not right at all, for someone to just take something that’s not theirs,” said Gaby Olivas, a 10th grade band member.

“It’s very frustrating to be working hard to represent our school and the district and have things that are taken from kids,” said N. Guy Lake, the band’s director.

What’s worse, this isn’t the first time the school (and band) has fallen victim.

A thief broke into their trailer last spring making away with a generator, but police never found the person responsible.

The district hopes the security footage will help connect the dots.

“We would appreciate if people have any information about the truck, people should notify the police department,” Perry said.

DSUSD says it has security patrol the campus at random times throughout the night, but one school official told us that patrol is responsible for all schools in the district and doesn’t come by often enough.

The theft has some students worried about what happens at their school after dark.

“I don’t really know how they were like able to take a truck and it can show you, like they can do anything,” Olivas said.

The CA license plate number of the stolen truck is 1147989.