Leave it outside, it may get stolen: Dickinson businesses have had items come up missing

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Items left unattended outside may fall prey more easily to thieves, as some Dickinson businesses have experienced over the years.

Gary Pal, who owns Gary’s Auto, located at 1646 Main St., said the inside of his business has not been broken into. But he has had cases where gas was syphoned from the vehicles sitting out in front of his business.

“It has happened once in a while but not that often,” he said. “Every now and then, there may be equipment out front that cannot be locked up and the gas has been stolen.”

When items went missing from outside Ed Binstock’s Big E Auction Service, located at 305 Second Ave., he said he did not contact law enforcement.

Binstock said he had a small lawnmower out in front of his business that he had already sold to a customer that went missing.

He added that the only other item he has had swiped from his business was a dog kennel worth somewhere between $200 and $300. Binstock said he had placed the kennel behind the T-Rex Auction Center.

“But it was just those two items that I’ve had stolen, and I do not believe that I ever reported either one of them to the police,” Binstock said.

Alex Pool, owner of Red Top Recovery Service in Dickinson, said he did report thefts off his business property, which included the removal taillights on a vehicle in front to the business.

“I just moved in here around July 4, and the theft happened soon after that and I reported it,” he said. “There’s no fence up yet since I just got into property and will look into getting a fence, lights and camera put up, but about the only way they’ll find people is to actually catch them in action.”

Although there are cases of theft from people’s property around town, Dickinson Police Department Capt. Dave Wilkie said, in most cases, they are minor thefts.

“Most times, if it is theft like that, it is someone coming by the place in the middle of the night,” he said. “We’ll get reports the next day, like so many bags of fertilizer were missing from a location or there is stuff missing out of someone’s back lot.”

Stark County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Fern Moser said the sheriff’s office has not received any recent complaints about property theft from businesses.

“If there is, people may not think that the price of the item lost makes it not worthy to come forward and report it, but they can,” he said. “That’s what we’re here for.”

Wilkie said such thefts are more common in the early spring when people begin to place things back in their yards after winter ends.

“Sometimes businesses can’t have cameras or security outside to protect things in the yard, so we try have officers drive by businesses once every hour or so for added security,” he said. “When people see the police in the area and they know we are patrolling, it tends to deter them from stealing.”

Keeping outdoor thefts down can be difficult because the thieves are not always easy to catch in the action, but Wilkie advises people keep their prized possession inside if possible, particularly overnight.

“Never leave anything of value outside,” he said. “There is always going to be someone who is not willing to pay for something and having thing outside in plain view makes it easier to take.”

Tags: news, theft, business, dickinson, stealing