Location: Los Angeles
Recovery date: Aug. 22
Value of stolen items: $3.5 million
A four-month investigation by the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department led to the arrest of nearly two dozen people suspected of participating in a Los Angeles-based theft ring that stole tools and equipment from 215 contractors and rental companies in nine Western states, the Associated Press reported. Authorities have recovered 25,000 pieces of equipment including nail guns, power saws, generators, tampers, trenchers and soil compactors. According to the Sheriff’s Department, the thieves accessed much of the equipment by using welding torches to cut through locks on steel storage containers at jobsites.
