JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Jacksonville contracting company in the Greenland Industrial Park was vandalized and had one of its trailers stolen amid the storm.
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The owners at Northeast Florida Contracting (NEFCON) provided Action News Jax their business surveillance video (see below) that captured the footage at about 2 AM Thursday morning, just as winds and rain from the storm swept across the area.
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The owners said this happened right as they prepared to help people with storm damage. Chris Carlson, operations partner at NEFCON, said they expected to spend Thursday morning helping families but were instead busy filing police reports with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
“The trailers are usually on business sites, but we brought them here for preparation and loaded them up with equipment like chainsaws, wenches, ladders and anything you would need to secure a house or office that could be affected during the storm,” said Carlson.
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The owners filed police reports for vandalism and theft, stating the man took off with an open trailer and a golf cart worth around $20,000, but they said the suspect also left behind $30,000 worth of damage to their other trailers.
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Carlson said the company operates with five trailers total and this crime left them with just one trailer that is still operating because the suspect stole one and then damaged three others.
“it’s just sickening that we’re trying to help out and do better for our families and there are people out there that want to cause destruction in the middle of a hurricane,” said Carlson.
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Northeast Florida Contracting Inc. is still working its regular business hours.
There is now a $5,000 cash reward for information that could lead to the arrest of the man in the video.
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Anyone with information is encouraged to call Crimestoppers.
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