GLOVERSVILLE - Police are asking for the public's help in finding thousands of dollars worth of tools and equipment taken from the Walmart Supercenter construction site off South Kingsboro Avenue.
City police said the items and values include: a trimble laser, $1,600; a pipe locator, $1,200; a Husky 760 demo saw, $900; two pipe lasers, $6,000 each; an optical level, $395; a Stihl demo saw, $900; a Hitachi three-quarter-inch impact tool, $225; a laser level, $1,500; a high pressure line test pump, $2,354; a 20-foot extension ladder, $195; two 2-inch electric pumps, $580; a Makita circular saw, $130; a Craftsman 192-piece tool set, $179; a fence post pounder, $80; and a man lift, $2,000.
The investigation began after the thefts were discovered Thursday. The items had earlier been secured, police said.
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Site work continues at the site of the new Walmart Supercenter in Gloversville this morning. Police say thousands of dollars worth of equipment has been stolen from the site.
The Leader-Herald/Bill Trojan
"The items taken have a very specific use and are not used in general construction," a city police news release stated.
Commercial equipment at work sites across the state is a frequent target for thieves, particularly downstate, Detective Capt. Anthony Clay said this morning.
"The items had been secured; the security had been breached," Clay said.
Police are looking for help from anyone who might have information about the theft, Clay said, particularly if some of the missing items are offered for sale locally.
Police Chief Donald VanDeusen said police are working with the construction site's crews to better patrol the site. Better measures for site operators to check the site are being discussed, he said.
"Unfortunately, these are things that do happen and we are following several leads," VanDeusen said.
Anyone with information regarding the theft or location of the equipment should call the Police Department at 773-4502 or 773-4504, police said. Anyone who has been approached to buy such equipment should contact authorities, police said.
Walmart spokesmen from the company's Bentonville, Ark., headquarters did not return a phone call seeking comment by press time.
The 157,000-square-foot Walmart retail store being built at Route 30A and South Kingsboro Avenue may open in July 2013, pending weather-related problems, Mayor Dayton King said last month.
Among the construction work now under way are traffic changes designed to improve safety and traffic flow at the store site.
Currently, Walmart has a store in the town of Johnstown at 233 Fifth Ave. Walmart plans to close that store when the supercenter opens.
Lisa D. Connell covers Gloversville news. She can be reached at gloversville@leaderherald.com.