Houston police say they are searching for suspects after a group of thieves broke into a construction services company overnight and made off with multiple pieces of heavy equipment.
The break-in occurred early Thursday at Ameco, a company that provides large-scale oil & gas services and construction projects in southeast Houston. Investigators say the suspects went to extreme lengths to access the property – crashing through multiple layers of fencing before attempting to steal several large vehicles.
According to Ameco Chief Operating Officer Dan Rich, surveillance video shows a black SUV ramming an outer fence. Several individuals then ran onto the property and tried to drive off with some of the largest trucks on site, with varying degrees of success.
“They feel a little violated, right? Honestly, it’s our livelihood we support projects with, and to come in here and see it stolen – it’s not a good feeling,” Rich said.
While the suspects attempted to steal larger construction trucks, they were unsuccessful. One became stuck on the fencing, and another broke down as the thieves ran over a concrete barricade with the truck, causing significant damage.
“They took one of the semi trucks, ran it through the fence onto the neighbor’s property, tore it all up – and tore up the fence here,” said Ameco employee David Jones.
Police say the thieves stole several smaller Kubota vehicles. One of those was later tracked via GPS to a nearby home at the corner of Lenore and Bliss streets.
Officers detained multiple people at the location and arrested the man who was driving the stolen vehicle. However, a man who lives at the house says he is not involved.
“Somebody was trying to sell the equipment, and we don’t do that stuff here, so they took off, and they caught him,” Victor Acosta said. “It was a guy we don’t even know going through the neighborhood.”
Ameco employees who identified the stolen property disagree with Acosta’s version of events, but their focus right now is on finding the missing equipment. Another truck was tracked to a nearby motel, and employees say another may have been spotted driving down the highway several hours later.
It is estimated that the damage to equipment alone is at least $100,000. That doesn’t include broken fencing and other non-construction equipment that were damaged.
Rich says the theft raises concerns about a growing trend targeting construction equipment.
“It’s similar to chop shops for vehicles. Now they’re going after construction equipment – you can take them, disguise them on a project, and nobody would recognize it,” he said.
The thieves also tried to get away with some unusual items. They even loaded another truck with a used microwave and a bag of chips from the company’s kitchen, but they damaged that vehicle, and it could not be driven off the property.
Rich says surveillance footage from the scene will be turned over to prosecutors. Anyone with information is urged to contact the Houston Police Department.
