Security Camera Catches Thieves Stealing $30K from Roofing Company

Suspects caught on CCTV stealing equipment from Orlando job site

Harold Cooke, owner of D&H Construction Services of Central Florida, has about $30,000 in equipment and material stolen from a jobsite in Orlando, Fla. — The Econ River Animal Hospital became a crime scene earlier this week when two thieves were caught on camera in the middle of the night stealing about $30,000 in equipment and material from Harold Cooke, owner of D&H Construction Services of Central Florida. D&H had been hired to repair the business’ roof.
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Security footage captured thieves brazenly stealing approximately $30,000 worth of roofing material and equipment from a jobsite in Orlando, Fla., in the middle of the night.

The theft, which took place at the Econ River Animal Hospital and first reported by local ABC affiliate WFTV, shows a man looking up at the business's roof on East Colonial Drive late Monday night. The suspect can be heard talking, likely to a second suspect already on the roof.

The equipment belongs to Harold Cooke, owner of D&H Construction Services of Central Florida. Cook's company was hired to work on the animal hospital’s roof, and he said that the only good thing about the crime was his fortune in that the animal hospital had cameras.

“They stole a rhino bond machine, a Leister robot for the TPO, all our hand welders, pouches, blowers, saws, drills,” Cooke said; the list was extensive.

Additional video shows the second person at the crime scene; at one point, it shows him opening up a cooler left by the workers at the site, grabbing a bottle of water, and walking away.

Cooke says he’s been in the business for more than 30 years, but this was the first time he’d seen something like what happened Monday night.

“We’re out here trying to make an honest living, doing the right thing,” Cooke said. “And you have people that, unfortunately, want to take advantage of other people.”

The Orange County Sheriff’s Office was called and is now trying to recover the stolen loot.

Roofing Contractor recently reported on a rash of property thefts that have caused contractors to lose tens of thousands of dollars in equipment and material. You can view the news report below, which includes the security footage. Footage courtesy of WFTV.

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Bryan Gottlieb is the online editor at Engineering News-Record (ENR).

Gottlieb is a five-time Society of Professional Journalists Excellence in Journalism award winner with more than a decade of experience covering business, construction, and community issues. He has worked at Adweek, managed a community newsroom in Santa Monica, Calif., and reported on finance, law, and real estate for the San Diego Daily Transcript. He later served as editor-in-chief of the Detroit Metro Times and was managing editor at Roofing Contractor, where he helped shape national industry coverage.

Gottlieb covers breaking news, large-scale infrastructure projects, new products and business.