Pair of thieves steal thousands of dollars of lawn equipment

JEFFERSON, Ga. - Two crooks carried out a pretty extensive plan to swipe lawn equipment from a Jefferson store. Police said they dismantled sirens, cut through gates, and loaded up a van, all in a matter of minutes.

The store manager believes the two thieves have been to the store before. He said they were too familiar with the store's layout.

Sunday morning, cameras capture a white van pull into the parking lot at Harco Equipment Rental in Jefferson. Three minutes later, two men are inside the store, grabbing as much Stihl equipment they get their hands on.

"They knew exactly where they were going, what they wanted and they went straight for it," said Greg Pass, store manager.

Pass said the thieves were too familiar. Before they ever entered the parking lot, they'd already dismantled a siren, and cut through locks on gates.

"They brought a ladder with them and put the ladder up against the building and knocked our siren off because there's houses across the street and they would hear that," said Pass.

The thieves knew they only had minutes before the building motion detectors would call the alarm company. They continued grabbing what they could.

Greg said they stole so much equipment they couldn’t even close the van door.

"Terribly frustrating, work every day, work sixty hours a week and have somebody come in here, and take it from you. It's very, very frustrating," said Pass.

Pass said he knows he's not the first store that's been targeted for Stihl and he won't be the last

"We'd loved to catch these people. They need to be caught because it's been done at other outdoor power stores and locations. They steal this Stihl equipment all the time," said pass

Anyone who recognizes the men in the video is asked to call the police.