Early Thursday morning, Pit Bull Powersports Owner Len Damouth learned that his north Springfield repair shop was broken into.
“We had knew that the alarms had went off. So you always hold your breath when that happens, you hope it’s a false alarm,” says Damouth, “But then you get here, and they’ve actually stolen stuff and it sucks. I hate thieves.”
The thieves cut the chain link fence open and stole four UTV’s, side-by-side off-roading vehicles, and a flat-bed trailer. They left after cutting the lock on the gate. Damouth says it was a group of four people, and his security cameras recorded the incident.
“I know this isn’t an isolated incident, there’s a lot of theft on the north side of Springfield,” says Damouth.
He opened the business in that location a couple years ago. He says they’ve experienced small, petty thefts, but nothing as serious as this one. Damouth says this kind of crime is tough on local businesses like his, and on the customers who lost their valuables. He says two of them are young boys.
“They save, and they get their Christmas money, and their birthday money, and they mow grass, and do chores,” says Damouth, “So to see thieves take something from kids like that, it just makes us furious.”
Luckily Damouth has the proper insurance coverage, including garage keeper insurance.
“It takes care of other people’s property while it’s in the possession of the repair shop, for instance,” says Insurance Agent Dustin Bowman. He says reputable repair shops will have garage keeper’s insurance. But when you drop off a vehicle at the shop, it’s a good idea to double check and make sure the business is covered.
“It doesn’t hurt to ask,” says Bowman.
When it comes to replacing the kids’ stolen vehicles, Damouth says he already has plans to buy them new ones. And when it comes to finding the thieves that did it, Damound says, “They were foolish enough to leave behind some gloves and some tools that the police have been able to pull some fingerprints off of. So it’s going to help, there.”
In the meantime, Damouth is ramping up security at the shop. He says, “We got a couple of bull mastiffs on the way and they’re hungry.”