Theives caught on camera stealing construction equipment from RBV Contracting in Detroit

Thousands of dollars worth of equipment stolen

DETROIT – A business owner targeted by thieves lost thousands of dollars worth of construction equipment and the theft was caught on camera.

The theft happened on Christmas and the business owner still doesn’t have any of his equipment back.

“They knew what they were doing, they weren’t petty thieves,” said John Houser, the project manager for RBV Contracting.

Two men targeted RBV Contracting, a gated construction company.

“There were two of them that came in underneath the fence. They must have slid their body underneath,” Houser said.

Once they were in the parking lot, Houser said they focused on getting inside.

“They came in here behind the building and worked on a window for about five minutes,” Houser said.

Then the two tried opening the door with a crow bar. That didn’t work either.

“In the video you can see him work on that door, fall down, and then he has his buddy and they were able to open that garage door just by lifting it up,” Houser said.

The thieves took big items, carrying them out one by one.

“A welder and chainsaws, that’s what they got the first time,” Houser said.

They left, but came back close to three hours later and got away with more expensive items.

Houser said they alerted construction companies in the area to be on the lookout in case someone tries selling the GPS equipment to them.

The business has added some safety provisions and a dead bolt on the door.


About the Authors:

Kayla is a Web Producer for ClickOnDetroit. Before she joined the team in 2018 she worked at WILX in Lansing as a digital producer.