By Tony Kukulich
A pickup truck and landscaping equipment were stolen from a Beaufort County facility last week.
The stolen property was valued at $40,000.
The Beaufort County Office of the Sheriff said that thieves made forcible entry into an enclosed area outside of the Beaufort County Public Works facility in Burton sometime between Wednesday, May 11 and Thursday, May 12.
A 2008 Ford F-250 with South Carolina plate CG63025 was stolen, as were weed eaters, blowers, hedge trimmers, pole saws and chainsaws.
In 2019, the county was the victim of a string of thefts related to landscaping equipment. From March through August of that year, six lawnmowers with a total value of approximately $50,000 were stolen using a variety of methods.
The first two mowers were stolen off trailers at work sites while workers were weed-eating or performing other landscaping work on the Spanish Moss Trail and at Basil Green Park. A second pair were stolen after thieves cut their way through the fence at a facility on Benton Field Road. The final incident in August 2019 was different.
In that incident, thieves appeared to have keys to the Shanklin Road facility and to the mowers that were stolen. At the time, it was reported that the thieves appeared to have known where the mowers and security were and appeared to have been familiar with the layout of the facility.
Anyone who has information on the subjects or stolen property related to this most current incident is asked to contact LCpl. Lyle Harris at 843-255-3436 or Crime Stoppers of the Lowcountry at 843-554-1111, if wishing to remain anonymous and for a possible reward.
Tony Kukulich is a recent transplant to the Lowcountry. A native of Wilmington, Del., he comes to The Island News from the San Francisco Bay Area where he spent seven years as a reporter and photographer for several publications. He can be reached at tony.theislandnews@gmail.com.
