Police searching for individuals who stole over $30K of equipment from Hurricane-based contractor

Northmen Construction crew at a job site, Hurricane, Utah, date not specified | Photo courtesy of Northmen Construction, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — Hurricane Police are investigating a burglary that left a local construction company without over $30,000 of concrete equipment in the days following Christmas.

Northmen Construction concrete tools, Hurricane, Utah, Nov. 17, 2019 | Photo courtesy of Northmen Construction, St. George News

Mark Postma of Northmen Construction in Hurricane told St. George News that when he and his crew returned to a work site at 230 N. Old Highway 91 on Saturday morning, they realized the equipment had gone missing. The equipment was taken sometime between Friday afternoon and Saturday at 8 a.m., he said.

Northmen Construction specializes in laying concrete for homes and businesses around Southern Utah.

Postma said his crew had left the equipment at the work site in a locked cargo trailer. When the crews arrived in the morning, the locks and thousands of dollars in equipment was missing.

The individuals got away with five 4-foot power trowels, two Alpine cut saws, two electric hydraulic rebar cutters, a electric hydraulic rebar bender, eight Makita batteries and four Makita battery chargers, a 7-inch grinder, a Makita jack hammer, a generator, a Husqvarna cut-off saw and a lot of hand tools. All of the stolen equipment is totaled at about $31,000.

“It’s tough,” Postma said. “We have 10 employees who work for us, and they rely on that equipment to do their job. For us, we have contracts with people that expect us to get their work done. We’re going to have to come up with a bunch of money just to replace part of the equipment to keep going.”

Postma said he believes more than one person was involved in the criminal activity, as some of the equipment would take at least two people to lift. He also believes the individuals involved are local.

Immediately after the break-in was discovered, the crew contacted the Hurricane Police Department, who took a report of the incident.

The equipment sitting inside the cargo trailer at the job site, Hurricane, Utah, Dec. 27, 2019 | Photo courtesy of Northmen Construction, St. George News

Police are now looking at video surveillance from nearby businesses, Postma said, and potentially have a vehicle description based off preliminary investigations that reveal tire marks near the scene of the theft, preserved by the soft ground due to the rain.

“I’m hoping we find our stuff and get it back,” he said. “That’s my biggest hope. There’s always hope.”

Postma posted pictures and video of the empty cargo trailer Saturday morning, asking Pawn Shops and Facebook Marketplace shoppers to be on the lookout for potentially stolen construction equipment that he believes the thieves might try to sell. He also contacted all of the concrete companies located in the area, asking them to keep an eye out for the equipment.

Postma said if anyone sees anything suspicious they should contact the Hurricane Police Department.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2019, all rights reserved.

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