Chicago Police Recover $1 Million Worth Of Stolen Equipment In West Side Bust
(CBS) -- Chicago Police say they have recovered stolen goods worth more than $1 million from the home of a man in the West Side Austin neighborhood.
They're asking the true owners to come forward.
Police acted June 30 on a tip that 53-year-old Jerome Brown sold the stolen goods out of his home on the 5600 block of Augusta Boulevard.
Armed with a search warrant, they found stacks of ladders, snow blowers and lawn mowers, chain saws, power tools, tool boxes, bicycles and more.
CPD breaks stolen construction equipment ring and recovers more than $1 million worth of property. pic.twitter.com/XVcvwMjzg9
— Anthony Guglielmi (@AJGuglielmi) July 14, 2016
It took police two weeks to inventory what they found in the home. Brown allegedly admitted to police that he had sold stolen goods for more than 10 years.
Police have moved the stolen goods to the community room of the Austin police station, 5701 W. Madison St.
A department spokesman says now that the goods are inventoried, detectives will try to reunite property owners with their stolen items between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Friday, and between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Saturday.
Police believe most of the items were stolen in Cook County. They are asking victims to bring identification, proof of purchase, a copy of the police report of the theft and any evidence relating to their loss, such as video, pictures or witnesses.