ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. – A 19-year-old Central Florida college student is hoping police can find the person who stole $6,100 that he saved for a year to buy a new car.
Jose Soto said he worked at Chipotle to save up money for the car. That's also where he thinks his money was stolen from the parking lot.
"I had it right here, set up with an envelope right here, and $100 right next to it, and that's it. It was gone," Soto said, pointing to where the money was in his car.
Around 2 p.m. Sept 1, Soto stopped by the Altamonte Springs Wells Fargo on State Route 434 to withdraw $6,000.
From there, he went to Amscot to pick up $100 his dad had sent him to help with the purchase and then made a quick stop at Chipotle for a bite to eat.
"It only took me two minutes to get my food," Soto said. "I came back and the money was gone."
However, he didn't noticed the cash was gone, from his car until he got to his home about a mile away.
"When I found out the money was gone I went straight to Chipotle to see if they have cameras," Soto said."They don't in the parking lot."
A branch manager at Wells Fargo said there are no cameras in the front facing the parking lot. The only cameras on the bank's property are in the drive through and Soto opted to go inside the bank because he thought it was safer.
"Somebody had to follow me. I mean, they saw me take out that much. They had to follow me. The money just doesn't disappear just like that, right? I would never think that someone would follow me," Soto said.
Police aren't saying if that's the case, but will continue with the investigation.
In the meantime, Soto said he's starting all over again, but is thankful the theft didn't go down in a way he got hurt.
"I am actually pretty lucky it happened like this because I think I figure if I found the guy who was going in my car and I was trying to stop him I could have got in trouble or who knows, he might have a gun. I don't know right? You don't know. I'm just lucky I'm OK," Soto said, adding, "Money is just material. I'll get it back."