A Red Deer County garbage collection company was broken into three times in less than three hours.
Jeremy Blocksom, co-owner of Waste-Co Disposal Systems Inc., said Tuesday that three culprits broke into the business’s compound around 2:25 a.m. on Sunday, breaking the locks on the fence. The security camera shows the culprits leaving around 2:34 a.m.
They came back a second time at around 2:56 a.m. Camera footage shows them in the business’s workshop. They left the compound at 4:03 a.m. with two trucks, a trailer, two skid steers and power tools.
The culprits didn’t stop there.
They made their way back to the business again, around 4:55 a.m., this time with one of the trucks they stole from the compound, and took a third truck.
“It’s frustrating that you know how easy it is for people to do that stuff,” said Blocksom, who operates the business on Spruce Street.
“It’s sad, is what it is.”
Since the break and enter occurred, two of the three trucks have been recovered.
Sunday evening, Blocksom received a call from someone stating they had spotted one of the trucks in a parking lot in Red Deer.
“On the way over there, I spotted our second truck with a driver in it. I stopped, tried to follow the guy, called the police. The driver went around and circled where the other truck was parked (in the parking lot) and we didn’t get anywhere from there.”
That night, Blocksom’s brother was on his way home and spotted the third truck parked outside someone’s house in the Eastview area.
“The police went over there and no one knew anything about it. It was then impounded,” he said.
On Monday, the company received a call from another garbage hauler in town saying they had spotted a truck, the same one Blocksom saw Sunday.
“That driver went to approach the guy. The guy took off, going through somebody’s fence in a commercial area. A couple of people chased him down, but got nowhere with it,” he said.
There are security guards who patrol the business area at nights, said Blocksom, adding the criminals are well organized.
“The people that broke in were in our yard a couple of minutes before security drove around, a couple minutes after they left. They knew the area. They knew what they were doing.”
Blocksom has insurance, but estimates the loss to be $300,000.
READ ALSO
Companies in business parks among those impacted by Red Deer crime
mamta.lulla@reddeeradvocate.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter