Ann Zaniewski

Detroit Free Press

Thieves stole $90,000 in lawn equipment early this morning from the Midtown headquarters of Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries, an act caught on surveillance cameras.

President and CEO Chad Audi said he was upset not only about the stolen items but also that a staff member was told a Detroit police detective wouldn't be assigned to the case for three or four days.

After inquiries from the Free Press, Audi said a Detroit police employee called him and said someone would be assigned to the case right away.

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The stolen equipment is used for a skills training program for homeless people, veterans and people who are trying to get back on their feet after incarceration. They often cut lawns of local senior citizens for free, Audi said.

The theft happened at 2 a.m. at the facility on Stimson between Woodward and Cass. The equipment was inside an 18-foot trailer inside a gated and locked parking lot.

Audi said a man used a sledgehammer to bust open a lock on the gate. Nearly 10 minutes later, another person drove up in a U-Haul truck, attached the trailer to it and drove away.

Audi said the thieves returned at about 4 a.m. and attempted to steal a riding lawn mower that was also parked outside.

"But they couldn't get it started," Audi said.

Along with the trailer, the thieves stole two walk-behind, 63-inch lawnmowers, a 42-inch Craftsman lawnmower, five regular Craftsman lawnmowers, seven weed trimmers, two backpack leaf blowers and two edgers.

Staff members realized what happened when they came to work this morning. Audi said his assistant called the police department. A police employee took a report over the phone, he said, and told his assistant it would be three to four days before a detective could be assigned.

"We called the police, and we told them we do have footage of everything. Their response was so weird," Audi told the Free Press. "They said they would send a detective in three to four days. ... To get a response like this from the police department, I never expected this."

Minutes after a Detroit Free Press reporter contacted a Detroit police spokeswoman about the case Friday afternoon, Audi said a department employee called him and said a detective would be assigned right away.

"(The case) is in the process of being assigned," Officer Jennifer Moreno told the Free Press on Friday. "The report is only four hours old."

Audi said he hopes the equipment is recovered before it is sold or stolen.

"I'm not sure where we're going to get $90,000 to replace this equipment," he said.

Audi said the Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries provides lodging every day to more than 2,200 men, women and children in southeast Michigan. It also provides job training, meals and other services, with 16 locations in Detroit and Highland Park.

Contact Ann Zaniewski: 313-222-6594 or azaniewski@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @AnnZaniewski.