Thieves Take More Than $20,000 Of Equipment From Owasso Man's Business

Monday, September 1st 2014, 7:00 pm

By: Tess Maune

Thieves were hard at work this Labor Day, as crooks drove away with a Green Country man's business.

An equipment trailer with more than $20,000 of equipment was stolen from an Owasso neighborhood near East 116th Street North and North Garnett early Monday morning.

A broken lock is all that's left of Rick Byrne's equipment trailer.

“It's definitely not thief-proof,” said Byrne. “They popped it [the lock]; found it in pieces at the tailgate of the truck.”

The trailer was locked to Byrne's work truck outside his house in Owasso, and locked to it was more than $20,000 worth of lawnmowers, weed-eaters, edgers and blowers, all equipment for Byrne's mowing business, Camo Outdoor Services.

“I want to say lock your stuff up and you'd think that'd be good enough, but a lock only keeps an honest man honest. It doesn't keep a thief from taking what he wants,” Byrne said.

Security footage from Byrne's neighbor showed a little rain coming down around the 4:30 Monday morning.

Then, a light-colored SUV appeared, turned the corner and shut off its headlights just before getting to Byrne's house. 15 minutes after that, the same SUV was seen speeding back by with Byrne's trailer full of equipment in tow.

“This is where I live and work and to have people scoping out your neighborhood, looking for things to take is awful,” said Byrne.

It wasn't just Byrne that the thieves were taking from, it's really going to hurt his young son and daughter the most, he said.

“It's a weekly paycheck, it helps pay for the gas in my wife's car, my kids' schools, lunches, everything. Without it, it's gonna be tough,” Byrne said.

While he is hopeful insurance will cover some of the cost, Byrne said the violation of it all is what's most maddening.

“If you're that hard up, people will pay you to work. It might not be what you want, you're not gonna get rich mowing lawns,” Byrne said. “But don't take from people who work so hard for it cause you're really hurting them.”

Byrne said he sold his extra lawn equipment in a garage sale last week.

Friends, family and even strangers have offered to give Byrne both money and equipment, which he greatly appreciates, though he said he's not looking for any handouts, he just wants his equipment back.



Byrne is offering an $1,100 reward for the recovery of all his equipment, including trailer and any information that leads to an arrest.

If you recognize the SUV, which is silver, gray or white, or see some the stolen equipment out on the street, call Owasso Police at 918-272-2244.