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WALKERTOWN, N.C. — Walkertown Auto Sales is still searching for a woman who bought a car using a fake check. The incident coming just weeks after the business experienced a series of other setbacks.
“You try to do the right thing and people do the wrong thing to you," Justin Dillon, Manager at Walkertown Auto Sales, said.
A seemingly simple car sale, turning into a weeks-long search.
“[It was a] normal purchasing interaction," Dillon said. “She was very pleasant, laughing. I mean just easy to talk to, just an easy transaction. It just felt normal.”
That's how he describes Jan. 17, when a woman came in to buy a 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee from his lot. Just four days later, he got a call from the bank. That's when he found out that suspect had paid with a fraudulent cashier's check.
“A lot of things go through your mind.," Dillon exclaimed. "You know, you're angry, you get mad at yourself too cause you feel like you should have caught it.”
That Jeep was worth over $33,000. Since then, they've been searching for answers.
“At this point I’m just exhausted and I know my sale managers exhausted because he’s done a lot of work to try and find this vehicle," Dillon said.
This is the third financial hit Walkertown Auto Sales has experienced in just about two months.
The first happened back in December, when thieves were caught on camera breaking into the store. Dillon said they stole a handgun and about $150.
The second happened just one week later, when someone broke out the window and tried to steal the same jeep the weekend before Christmas.
Dillon said both incidents cost them hundreds of dollars. The first to fix the smashed front door. The second to replace that broken car window.
“I don’t like coming to work every morning, when I pull in the parking lot wondering if the glass is busted out of something or the front door, " Dillon said. "Cause normally you don’t think about those things, but, recently, it’s been like, please let things be normal.”
Dillon reported the Jeep stolen to the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office. He's hopeful deputies will catch that suspect soon.
“It’s just been like one after another lately, so we’re ready for some peace," Dillon said.
Deputies have yet to find any of the suspects from these three incidents. Dillon said he will be upgrading his camera systems as a result.