A man is hopeful that police will recover tools stolen last week from his Cape Coral business since a vehicle that was also taken has been recovered.
On July 6, the Cape Coral police responded to a report of a burglary at 715 N.E. 19th Place. Joe Abbott, owner of Joe’s Mower Shop, reported that he arrived at 8 a.m. to find the business was not secure and items were gone.
He said two employees locked up the night before and set the alarm.
According to a police report, the stolen items included a welder, a set of tourches, a cash box and a key to a truck. The items are valued at $11,202.
Abbott told police that there were no signs of forced entry, and the alarm code had been reset and was not active as it should have been. The truck key was in the office area, and there is no label on it to indicate what it goes to.
On Tuesday, Abbott said the truck had been stolen along with the key.
He said law enforcement recovered the truck, which just happened to be a customer’s vehicle, the following day parked of U.S. 41 and Pine Island Road. An air compressor was missing, along with the center console of the truck.
“I appreciate they got it back,” Abbott said, adding that he did not know how he was going to pay for the customer’s vehicle if it had not been found.
He said police have a possible suspect and the person reportedly has nine warrants.
“We know who it is, we just can’t find him,” Abbott said.
When he filed the police report on July 6, Abbott reported that he had recently discovered an additional $30,000 in tools were missing from the business. Abbott said Tuesday he hopes police can recover some items.
Anyone with information can contact the Cape Coral Police Department at 574-3223, or submit a tip by texting “CCPD” plus the message to CRIMES or by visiting: www.capecops.com. Tipsters can also contact Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers at (800) 780-TIPS (8477) and be eligible for a cash reward.