Stolen Landscaping Truck Involved in Hit and Run

A landscaper could do nothing but watch as someone drove away at a high rate of speed in his landscaping truck.

The landscaper told police he was working at the entrance of a Buford subdivision on Nov. 20 when he heard the engine to his truck start. According to the police report, the landscaper had left his keys in the ignition of the truck and the doors unlocked while he worked. As the landscaper watched, the thief made a u-turn and headed south on Puckett’s Mill Road with the rear ramp still down.

Gwinnett County Police canvassed the area, but were unable to locate the vehicle. Approximately two hours later, police were dispatched to a hit and run in the 4800 block of First Avenue in Buford. According to a witness, a landscaping truck matching the description of the stolen truck struck a basketball goal and left the scene. The witness said he arrived home that afternoon and noticed a white male, approximately 25-35 years old, moving chainsaws, blowers, weed eaters, edgers and other lawn equipment to the rear of a house on Lanier Avenue. The witness said the male then left at a high rate of speed, striking the basketball goal in the process.

The following day, police obtained a search warrant for the Lanier Avenue house but were unable to locate any of the stolen equipment. At roughly the same time the search warrant was executed, the owner of the truck found his vehicle in a shopping center parking lot in Lawrenceville. The vehicle had a broken rear window, a flat rear right tire and the keys were missing. All of the landscaper’s equipment was missing.

The landscaper advised that he had also recovered his cell phone, which had been stolen along with his truck. According to the landscaper, he received a call from a man who said he had found the phone in Conyers. The man agreed to meet him in Snellville to return the phone.

The case is listed as active.

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