Thieves hit another Midlands boat dealer
Jack Kuenzie
Sep 26, 2016 01:44 PM
IRMO, SC (WIS) - An Irmo boat dealership is the latest target of a sophisticated marine motor theft operation.
Owners of Carolina Inboard say a group of burglars cut through a fence and defeated security equipment before stealing seven expensive Yamaha motors and electronic consoles from three boats.
Co-owner Lauren Evans says the break-in began Saturday night and the suspects may have been on the dealership property on Bickley Road for as long as five hours.
Evans says the thieves broke the clutch line on a truck blocking an entrance so they could roll it out of their way. She says security cameras were recording until about 8:00 p.m. when someone cut the cables to them.
Evans says losses are estimated at between $150,000 to $200,000.
The thefts follow break-ins discovered in March at boating and marine supply stores in West Columbia and Leesville.
Losses in those locations also ran into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
In both cases, at Mid-Carolina Marine in West Columbia and Captains Choice Marine in Leesville, thieves took only Yamaha motors.
If you have any information that could help investigators make an arrest, contact Crimestoppers in any of the following ways: Call 1-888-CRIME SC (888-274-6372), Text TIPSC plus your tip info to CRIMES (274637), visit www.midlandscrimestoppers.com and email a tip. Your identity will be kept anonymous, and if your tip leads to an arrest, you could be eligible for a cash reward of up to $1,000.
Copyright 2016 WIS. All rights reserved.
Bookmarks