Video appears to show Lehigh tailgate thief in action

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LEHIGH ACRES, Fla. Surveillance video appears to show a thief stealing the tailgate off a truck in less than two minutes.

The truck parked at 659 Dubarry Ave. S. became the seventh vehicle owned by North Naples-based South Florida Excavation to have had its tailgate stolen within the last three years, company vice president Rob Anderson said.

Tailgates can fetch around $1,000 at junkyards, Anderson estimates, making them attractive targets. There were 122 tailgates stolen statewide in 2015, according to the latest data from the National Insurance Crime Bureau.

“They’re getting very gutsy in how they come in and take them now,” Anderson said.

About 20 company-owned pickups are on the road each day, and supervisors take them home at night, according to Anderson. They’re instructed to back the trucks into their driveways, but that hasn’t always proven an effective deterrent.

Anderson now plans to start screwing hose clamps on his tailgates.

“It’s tough to take. It hurts. They’re expensive,” Anderson said.

Anyone with information about the person shown in the video is asked to contact the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.

 

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