"Brisket bandits" steal hundreds of dollars worth of BBQ from North Texas church
To Texans, it's a shameful crime: brisket is one of our most beloved staples to come out of the smoker.
That's why members of an Irving church are hot about some "brisket bandits" captured on camera.
Irving City Councilman Dennis Webb had 20 briskets on the smokers outside Bear Creek Community Church on Friday.
"So, each one of these three racks had three briskets on it," he said.
Webb had volunteered for the second year in a row to supply his famous briskets for the annual Many Helping Hands fundraising dinner on Saturday.
"I heard a lot of rave reviews about it, and I just love to do it," said Webb.
But only minutes after stepping away from the smoker on Friday afternoon, Webb returned and noticed some missing meat.
"As I was checking them, something didn't look right," Webb said. "I realized I'm missing two briskets... Oh no, nobody would have come and stolen briskets off of a pit."
But Webb soon learned they were indeed snatched from the smoker.
"So that's when I went and checked the camera, and that's when I discovered the 'brisket bandits' had stolen two briskets off of the smoker," said Webb.
Two people, now known as the "brisket bandits," captured on security cameras outside the church, can be seen carrying away expensive BBQ that was only a little more than halfway cooked.
"You're probably talking $300 a brisket when you add all the value of the cost," Webb said. "I had to babysit them for 12-13 hours. I had to prep them."
The church staff handed over their videos after filing a police report and said they want those responsible prosecuted.
Fortunately, Webb says there was enough food left behind for the fundraising dinner. But he and others want the "brisket bandits" to know that they were stealing from a charity that feeds hungry people.
"I would send them to 500 hours of community service on this property right here," said Webb. "You just cannot have a mentality that you can commit a crime and there's no consequences for it."
