By Robert Andre Emmanuel
Carnival weekend saw no pause in criminal activity for people to enjoy the festivities as the police had to respond to a number of calls, including theft of gardening and construction tools.
The green-thumbed thieves began their criminal activity between Thursday night and Friday with the first incident occurring at Christ the King High School where the principal reported the theft of a 100-pound gas cylinder and a lawnmower from the school property.
The thieves reportedly pried open the bars where the cylinder was securely located, later removing the lawnmower from the school premises that same evening.
The second incident occurred in Clare Hall where three weedwackers, one trimmer and a vacuum were stolen from a businessman’s storeroom after he closed for the night on Thursday.
Another late-night strike of yard equipment occurred in Old Road where the bandits stole two weedwackers and a pair of black rubber boots after the victim had secured them under their home.
Later that Friday, a Buckleys resident reported to the police that someone broke into his car in St Clare Heights and stole two weedwackers – worth $1,000 each – from his vehicle, while another from Golden Grove saw his $3,500 weedwacker swiped after he placed it near the roadside while doing some gardening work.
Meanwhile, Saturday also saw a welding plant worth reportedly $6,500 taken from the garage of a 42-year-old man from Glanvilles.
The criminal activity did not just involve the theft of expensive gardening equipment but also saw individuals break into Sammy’s Quarry in Greencastle, Bendals, damaging three CCTV cameras and breaking into a container on the property.
The incident saw two buckets of hydraulic oil valued at $200 each, and two cases of grease, valued at $400 each, taken.
Moreover, a 68-year-old man was robbed by four young men in Golden Grove of more than $7,000 in an apparently prepared ambush. Two of the young men reportedly waited in the bushes while the other two acted as lookouts. .
On Saturday, a construction site in Marble Hill was also targeted with over $20,000 worth of power tools stolen from the site’s storeroom, including two chop saws, a hammer drill, two cordless drills and multiple 12V batteries.
Additionally, a number of vehicles were broken into over the weekend, with at least five persons reporting damage to their vehicles, with some reporting items stolen, including the car’s batteries.
Meanwhile, it wasn’t just theft that occurred over the weekend. A 20-year-old is nursing gunshot wounds after being shot in Botanical Gardens. The motive for the attack is currently unclear but reports indicate he was shot in the abdomen, buttocks and hand, and had to be taken to the hospital for treatment.
