NORFOLK, Va. - Meadow Green Builders sent employees home after the owner said their Bran-mar dump truck trailer and tools inside were stolen overnight on December 16.
Guy Sorensen told News 3 business was shut down for nearly two days.
Meadow Green Builders in Norfolk
"Very disheartening - especially this time of year - that somebody would steal and then steal tools that men use to provide for their families," said Sorensen.
The owner said the trailer dump truck was worth between $6,500-$6,600 and had $2,800 worth of tools inside. Meadow Green Builders are currently building high-end town homes off Tidewater Drive.
The business said they had a small camera that showed what they believe was a 2006-2009 Ford F-250 drive onto their work site and two suspects.
"We had a lock on the trailer and we had it in the very back of the job site, so I feel like somebody was probably casing the job and saw the opportunity and unfortunately, they took it," Sorensen added.
The business is now behind, and they're nearly a week off schedule for completion. Around 16 employees were asked to leave work for almost two days until replacement tools were purchased.
"This is money that should be going for Christmas bonuses or raises, but instead it's going to replace tools that were stolen from us."
Stainless steal cables were added at both entrances to the work site for after business hours and "no trespassing signs" to avoid anymore thieves from coming back.
Sirensen said, "We're putting GPS chips on all the trailers and all the tool boxes and some of the tools sporadically."
He hopes his employees can still enjoy their Christmas despite the thief. The owner said he if offering a $500 cash reward to anyone with information that will lead to an arrest.
