A Jefferson County business owner made off with thousands of dollars worth of equipment after thieves made off with it.
HIGH RIDGE, Mo. — A Jefferson County business owner had thousands of dollars worth of equipment stolen by thieves last week.
Dalton Ray received a call Friday morning that his business, Dalton's Lawn & Landscaping, in High Ridge had been robbed.
“Someone broke into our brand new dump truck and stole it. We bought it a month ago and it needed a lot of repairs. The dump truck went to the repair shop for repairs. “It took about 24 hours to get back to our store,” Dalton said.
The dump truck had been repaired the day before and was stolen when he was about to get his license.
Late Monday afternoon, a spokesperson for the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office told 5 On Your Side that the dump truck was found in St. Louis County.
But that wasn't the only thing that was filmed.
“We discovered that they had also broken into our storage trailer and removed nearly all of the electrical equipment we owned, including backpack blowers, trimmers, and chainsaws,” Dalton said. Ta.
Mr Dalton noticed footprints in the dirt and believes those responsible climbed the hill and entered around the fence at the edge of the property.
Losses for the dump truck and power equipment total nearly $25,000.
The thieves caused more damage while on the run.
“They broke through and destroyed our main gate, taking away a fire hydrant in the process,” he said.
Dalton believes he was targeted.
“It had just been in the store and I was wondering why they hadn’t picked it up since I had left it there a week or two ago. It was a real mess and it was completely repaired and soon I was furious that it was ready for use.''It started operating, but no one had had a chance to drive it yet,'' he said.
Investigators say they have no information on any arrests or other stolen equipment.
“It's very frustrating, but I'm taking this as a lesson and putting security first across the board,” he said.
He said he wished security cameras had been installed.
“Unfortunately, there were no cameras. But we're definitely changing that now. My focus is on increasing our overall security,” he said.
Dalton said he will no longer be in the landscaping business until the items are returned or he can purchase them again.
