Business owners’ camera captures crime twice in 3 months

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – A west side business owner’s security camera has captured a crime for the second time in three months.

Police are hoping the video will lead them to whoever stole equipment from a plumbing company near Lynhurst Drive and W. Raymond Street Monday morning.

In September, a thief stole 10 tanks of flammable gas from a company called Ferrer Mechanical. The owner shared his security footage with 24-Hour News 8 and IMPD and officers arrested a man days later.

Monday morning, the same camera captured another thief targeting Ferrer and Snappy Services, a plumbing company located next to Ferrer.

Jerry Snap owns Snappy Services. He said the thieves broke four windows to his vans, which were parked behind his shop, and stole thousands of dollars’ worth of tools. Snap said they took saws, drills and drain machines.

“We’re good people. We try to take care of everybody,” Snap said. “Then you see stuff like this happen and it’s just a letdown.”

Ferrer’s security video shows two people hop out of a black pickup truck and shuffle around Snap’s vans around 2:35 a.m. They move the truck behind Ferrer about an hour later.

Kris Griffith is the owner of Ferrer. He said the thieves shattered the windows to one of his company’s vans and damaged the lock to his storage container, but stole nothing from him.

His video shows a man walking to the container in a red shirt and black hat.

“It kind of boggles the mind that somebody chooses this path to make a quick buck when there are opportunities out there with the same people that they’re stealing from,” Griffith said.

Griffith said he suspects the thieves are looking for quick cash for a pawn shop.

Snap said he’ll start parking his vans inside and he plans to buy his own security cameras.

“What comes around goes around,” Snap said. “Karma catches up with everybody.”

Anyone with information on the case can call Crime Stoppers at 317-262-TIPS.