SPD looking for riding mower thieves

By Erik Sanzenbach
St. Tammany News
Published on Monday, June 29, 2009 8:23 AM CDT

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Slidell police said that early last Saturday morning, brazen thieves made off with five brand-new riding mowers valued at $17,200 parked outside the Home Depot on the Interstate 10 service road.

Police believe the thieves may be the same ones that did a similar robbery of tractors at the Home Depot on Bullard Avenue in New Orleans a week before.

Slidell police spokesman, Capt. Kevin Foltz said the suspects stole a 2000 Ford van registered to the city of New Orleans Friday, and drove it to a U-Haul dealership in Slidell. There, the van was abandoned, and the thieves stole two 17-foot U-Haul trucks, took them to the Home Depot, put the tractors in the trucks and fled. Foltz said a third U-Haul truck was damaged during the operation. He said the ignition was damaged as if the thieves were trying to steal the truck.

The riding mowers stolen are two John Deere Z245 s, a Toro Z5030 riding mower and a Cub Cadet RZT50.

Foltz said that one of the U-Haul trucks has been recovered, but they are still looking for the other one, a 2004 Ford with Arizona license plate AB19357. The truck’s U-Haul number is EL5086H.

There might be a break on the case, Foltz said. A person with a stolen U-Haul was apprehended in Baton Rouge, but Slidell police are waiting to see if it is the same truck.

If anyone has any information on the riding mowers or the trucks, they can call the Slidell police at 643-3131.

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