Police seize $1 million in stolen construction equipment

Investigators arrested a man last week in Oxon Hill, Maryland, where authorities foiled an expensive construction equipment theft scheme.

Police said they found 13 stolen skid-steers, two excavators, numerous trailers and building equipment.

“We had some pieces of equipment that were taken out of Laurel City, Cecil County, Cecil County, as far down as St. Mary’s County and some we couldn’t track back to anybody, so it’s hard to say how many victims we really had,” said Capt. Craig Winegardner with Prince George’s County Police

Prince George’s County Police arrested 38-year-old Brandyn Green and gave him multiple felony theft charges.

“A lot of these construction companies were leaving them at construction sites, and he was just going to the sites and taking them in the middle of the night and driving off with them,” Winegardner said. “A big truck with a big trailer loading construction equipment, it’s not really going to turn too many heads.”

Police said a previous case of stolen equipment back in February led them to the 4400 block of Wheeler Road.

When they started receiving new reports of stolen equipment, one of the detectives had the idea of searching through the area with a helicopter. When they took to the skies, they spotted the stolen equipment.

“It’s a vacant lot,” Winegardner said. “It’s an open lot with a wooded area, and they had cleared some trees out to make it more of an open area. There’s no house, there’s no buildings, nothing like that.”

Police believe Green may have been selling the stolen equipment for several thousand dollars less than what it was worth. They are currently investigating whether he acted alone. Captain Winegardner said these crimes had a big impact on small businesses.

“They’re not big construction companies that are wealthy. They don’t have this equipment, they can’t perform their jobs,” Winegardner said. “They’re not going to get the contracts, and they’re going to miss out on money. Their employees rely on those wages. If they don’t have that income, then a lot of these employees don’t get paid as well.”

Police said the suspect could face more charges in neighboring jurisdictions.

Prince George's County Police said they're still trying to locate some of the people who had their things stolen. They're encouraging anyone who may be missing equipment to reach out to them.