Police are searching for a trio of suspected burglars who are believed to have stolen thousands of dollars worth of lawn maintenance equipment.
The burglary happened during the early morning hours of May 10 at the Greater Refuge Temple. A portion of the burglary was recorded on a surveillance camera that was also one of the pieces of church property reported stolen.
The video showed three men exiting a dark blue Honda SUV parked in front of the church storage building. The vehicle had a Disney license plate with numbers and letters on the plate that were not clear enough to make out.
Seconds after the men exited the SUV, one of them was seen looking directly into the camera and jumping up at the camera to disable it. Seconds later, the video stopped because the camera was ripped out of the wall of the wall.
According to police, the men stole thousands of dollars worth of lawn maintenance equipment.
News4JAX Spoke with Gentle Grover who is church deacon. He said some of the stolen items were brand new. Grover said the church relies on that equipment to maintain the church grounds, especially as the summer season approaches.
“The grass is growing frequently so we need this stuff to work with. It impacts the financial part of the church greatly because now it sets us back. That equipment must be replaced,” Grover said.
Unfortunately, Friday morning was not the first time thieves have targeted the church storage building. Grover said the building had been targeted three prior times this year by thieves.
“The first break-in, they stole two golf carts. The next night, they came back. They rammed the door with one of the stolen golf carts and tore in again. The third time they came back, they took small things that did not work,” Grover said.
It’s not clear if different people or the same group is behind the break-ins which is why the police and church leaders are hoping someone has information that will lead to an arrest and conviction.
Grover said that as a safety precaution, church employees who come to work or leave at certain hours have been instructed to ensure they are with someone and not alone when they arrive or leave.
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Source: News4jax
