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There's no question that Texans love trucks. Turns out thieves do too.

AP

"They're easy to steal. They're highly popular," said Officer Jim Woods with the HPD Auto Theft Unit.

Woods said Ford trucks have taken over as the most stolen vehicle in Houston -- the F-150s for parts and the bigger F-250s and 350s for other crimes.

"From what we're seeing from the recovery reports they're taking the rear seat out of the pickup trucks and we're being told you can put anywhere from 12 to 15 illegal aliens inside that truck," explained Woods.

Plus, The bigger models don't have computer chips in the keys meaning the ignition can easily be compromised.

Our interest piqued in this story after what happened over the weekend. Thieves were at it again. There were at least two cases of Ford trucks stolen. In one of them, an owner lost his life.

The Dominos Pizza deliveryman was shot to death Friday night in southwest Houston.

Suspects then stole his Ford truck.

Early Sunday morning, another owner shot a man who tried to get behind the wheel of his F-150 warming up in the driveway.

It's uncertain in either case whether suspects were out to get the truck. But Houston Police tell us no other vehicle is more appealing to thieves right now.

We dug back through HPD's top 10 stolen vehicle lists.

For every month since May of last year Ford trucks rank first.

More than 1,500 stolen here in the last eight months.

A number that isn't likely to fall until Ford's popularity does first.