BILLINGS - A Billings veteran is really down on his luck and hoping the community can help track down the thieves who stole his car. Tony Sifuentes’s car was stolen not once, but twice in Billings, a theft that cost him his current job.
Sifuentes is an Army veteran who served not one, but two tours in Iraq.
His time in Iraq is hard to forget. He now has PTSD and anxiety from what he saw during his tour of duty.
“Things happen, you know, car bombs, seeing your buddies get shot. It’s horrible. It’s really hard out there,” Sifuentes said.
Sifuentes had to get out of the Army back in 2010 after a car wreck. This accident left him on life support for a week.
Now, Sifuentes is back in Billings where his son resides. He’s trying to get his commercial driver's license in truck driving school. However, luck has not been on his side. His personal vehicle has been stolen, not once, but twice.
“This is from the last time when it was stolen. I still haven’t gotten it repaired and it was stolen again,” Sifuentes said.
His car was stolen for the second time on December 6th in a parking lot on Overland Drive. The crime was captured on a hotel surveillance camera.
“I met this guy a few times and he said let’s run to my motel really quick, I need to grab something. And we were just driving around, so I set my keys down and I went to use the bathroom, and when I came out my car was gone. The keys were gone, he was gone,” Sifuentes said.
Everything was gone, along with his driver’s license, commercial driver’s license permit, his money, and even his phone. This loss led him to lose his job.
“From then, I got kicked out of truck driving school. I called them up and said I couldn’t be there, I could be there tomorrow but I wanted to find out what was up with my car and everything,” said Sifuentes.
Sifuentes is hoping that the community can help him find the man and two women that stole his 2017 Nissan Maxima SL. These thieves left the car completely trashed. The car has been recovered and is currently at a tow lot, with thousands of dollars in damage.
If you would like to support Sifuentes, visit Fundraiser by Anthony Sifuentes : Car stolen, recovered, needs repairs, (gofundme.com). If you have any information on who the suspects might be, call the Billings Police Department.
