SEGUIN – A Seguin business owner had an unexpected surprise when he noticed not only had several high-dollar items been stolen from his property, but his property was also heavily damaged.
Mark Dietz, the owner of Dietz Tractor Company, said he stopped by his family-owned business Monday morning to drop off a trailer when he noticed his forklift had been moved.
"I got in and saw the back fence had been torn out, and I realized something was wrong," Dietz said. "So I called 911."
Dietz said it happened Sunday afternoon and he captured the heist on camera.
"I have him recorded from about 3 p.m. into last night at midnight," Dietz said.
Not only did the thief try to hot-wire several different vehicles, he also stole a 1989 F350 Ford flatbed, a 36-foot gooseneck trailer and seven zero-turn lawnmowers.
"This guy dug through everything and threw all contents out looking, anything," Dietz said. "He took rims off a truck, he took radios out of cars. He took tools, gas cans. What he couldn’t steal, he tore up.
He slashed some tires on my Suburban that he couldn't move to get to another trailer and then he stole the battery out of it."
Dietz said fortunately, small cameras throughout the property captured snapshots of the thief.
"I only got one guy on camera, but there may have been more. In our industry, it seems like the agricultural sales industry, we get hit all the time."
Dietz said in total, with the items missing and the damage done to the property, he is looking at a bill of over $150,000.
"This guy just didn’t care," Dietz said. "It is just very disappointing because you work so hard for your things, and to have it stolen like this, it is terrible. It is saddening."
The Seguin Police Department was able to obtain several fingerprints from the scene, which, in combination with the surveillance, is why Dietz is confident the thief will be caught.
"We are blessed it is not going to take us out of business. It is just a setback," he said.
