A pair of robberies within just two weeks of each other have forced landscape company owner Brian Awad to build a wall to protect his business.
Awad’s company was first hit on Dec. 11, when his security cameras captured two men breaking into a trailer on his lot, located in the 5000 block of West Bloomingdale Avenue in the city’s North Austin neighborhood.
“They hit one of the trailers here, and stole all the equipment that was inside the trailer,” Awad said.
After that robbery, Awad said that one of his employees called 911 to report the crime, but operators would not send out any officers.
“I was really aggravated that the police didn’t come out here and investigate,” he said. “We are two blocks away from the 25th District.”
Police officials told NBC 5 that they usually don’t send out officers when someone breaks into garages or trailers, but detectives are investigating after a second crime was caught on camera less than two weeks later.
In that Dec. 23 crime, the robbers backed a U-Haul truck up to the business, breaking into Awad’s warehouse to steal specialized landscaping equipment, including battery-operated commercial landscaping devices.
Local
The business owner says that the robberies have cost his business more than $21,000 in stolen equipment, harming his company during the holiday season.
“That’s a big hit,” Awad said. “It can put anybody out of business quickly.”
To counteract the crimes, Awad has built a wall around his warehouse, hoping that he can protect his equipment from thieves.
