State trying to hunt down stolen DOT truck officials believes is being used to commit crime
The state transportation department is trying to hunt down a stolen government truck it believes is being used to commit crime. The state transportation department is hunting for a stolen government truck it believes is being used to commit crime in Hawaii. The stolen truck was found at a base yard in Hau’ula, one of 16 DOT locations across the state. The incident has led to significant security changes, including a $10,000 investment in the DOT's base yard facilities. Surveillance video shows a truck with similar markings hauling a trailer from an arborist's home in Manoa, using it for another theft. The DOT recovered the trailer on Tuesday.
Publicados : 4 semanas atrás por Eddie Dowd no General
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - The state transportation department is trying to hunt down a stolen government truck it believes is being used to commit crime.
The base yard in Hau’ula is one of 16 the DOT has across the entire state. An incident on Friday is leading to some big security changes to all of them.
The Hau’ula base yard holds around half a dozen government vehicles with official markings.
According to the DOT, crews arrived to work Friday to find a fence broken into and one of their trucks missing.
DOT officials believe the theft happened overnight Thursday, where thieves then took the truck down to Manoa, using it to conduct another theft
Surveillance video timestamped at 5:50 a.m. Friday shows a truck with similar markings hauling a trailer from an arborist’s home in Manoa.
The trailer’s owner was shocked when he saw the video.
“I think it might have been blown off as ‘they are just working’ because it was a state vehicle,” said Justin Donahue of Donahue Arborists.
That surveillance video reached the DOT’s head, Ed Sniffen, who spent years in charge of the department’s highway division.
“When I saw the video, I was absolutely upset about it,” said Sniffen.
“It’s a lot of work to be a criminal, so go get a job and make sure you’re supportive of the economy instead of impacting the operations of a state agency that everyone depends on.”
Sniffen says that in response, the DOT is rolling out $10,000 in security upgrades to all 16 of its base yard facilities. These upgrades include GPS tracking in vehicles, wheel locking and chains, and new security camera systems.
“We have not gotten confirmation from police that our truck was, in fact, used in the Manoa theft, but from the video, it sure looks like it.”
There is some good news. HPD was able to recover the Donahue trailer, which was mostly intact, on Tuesday.
Tópicos: Crime