thedrifter
08-14-05, 11:02 PM
EDINBURG
Marines Robbed of $10K in Lawn Equipment
Aug 9, 2005, 8:29 AM
Reported by Ray Pedraza
After having proudly served in Operation Iraqi Freedom, U.S. Marines Alvis Mills and Carlos Garza, Jr. returned to the Valley continuing their pursuit of an American dream.
"He and myself got together and wanted to together, with our money that we saved from the military, create our own business," said Mills. "And we came up with a landscaping and maintenance business."
Mills said they decided to call the small business "Semper Fi" G & M Landscaping. Semper Fi, says Mills, is the U.S. Marines motto which means "always faithful".
The young entrepreneur said their enterprise planted it's roots and quickly prospered.
But that was only until someone with unfaithful morals stole a trailer with ten-thousand dollars of uninsured lawn equipment from his front yard.
"They had the guts to just come right up there and back the truck up to it," said Mills. "And (they) waited till nobody was around and then took off with it."
Mills said the trailer was parked off of Mon Mack Road in Edinburg when witnesses claim a maroon truck made off with it.
Among the items taken were the 6x12 foot trailer with a commercial grade Cub Cadet riding mower and push mower, three commercial grade Stihl brand weed eaters and trimmers and two Echo brand back pack blowers.
Gone too is their income, several clients, and their families' stability.
But not all hope is lost thanks to loyal customers Mike and Deanna Cochran.
As soon as the Cochrans heard about the unsightly injustice they logged on to kgbt4.com to get help.
"We watch Channel 4 News, and we watch Action 4 for you and enjoy it," said Cochran, a small business owner in Edinburg who's familiar with the challenges of a start up business.
"And when we heard that this had happened to Alvis, we took it upon ourselves to write ya'll a letter."
In an e-mail, the Cochran's wrote saying they are "broken hearted to see a young defender of our country crippled by the dark side of our society".
"It hurts me inside, people who take other people's property, you sometimes wonder do they have any idea what they're doing to people," said Cochran, still bothered by the unfortunate situation.
Mr. Cochran, who's also a veteran, says he hopes someone who sells lawn equipment will offer some of time help by offering discount pricing or replacing the equipment all together.
Alvis and Carlos have filed a report with Hidalgo County Sheriff investigators but think the chances of recovering the stolen property look rather bleak.
"The main thing is we just want to get our equipment back," said Mills. "We'd like to know why would somebody just take it. And it kind of just puts two families behind, (it) puts a downpour on our business."
For anyone willing to help out Alvis and Carlos, they can send an e-mail to Listens@kgbt4.com or they can call the Action 4 Newsroom at 956-366-4423.
Now as for the criminal investigation into who stole their property, the Hidalgo County Sheriff's Department says they are actively looking at any and all leads.
If anyone has any information that could help in this case, they are urged to call 668-TIPS.
The Marines are offering a $500 reward.
Here is a look at the stolen items and their estimated value:
* 2003 Cub Cadet Zero Turn Riding Mower w/42 inch deck. It's black and yellow and is valued at about $5,600
* Cub Cadet push mower valued at about $460
* Echo brand back pack blowers worth about $420 each
* 3 commercial size Stihl brand weed eaters (orange and grey)
* A wheel barrow and fertilizer spreader
* Several shovels and rakes and other accessories
Ellie
:mad:
Marines Robbed of $10K in Lawn Equipment
Aug 9, 2005, 8:29 AM
Reported by Ray Pedraza
After having proudly served in Operation Iraqi Freedom, U.S. Marines Alvis Mills and Carlos Garza, Jr. returned to the Valley continuing their pursuit of an American dream.
"He and myself got together and wanted to together, with our money that we saved from the military, create our own business," said Mills. "And we came up with a landscaping and maintenance business."
Mills said they decided to call the small business "Semper Fi" G & M Landscaping. Semper Fi, says Mills, is the U.S. Marines motto which means "always faithful".
The young entrepreneur said their enterprise planted it's roots and quickly prospered.
But that was only until someone with unfaithful morals stole a trailer with ten-thousand dollars of uninsured lawn equipment from his front yard.
"They had the guts to just come right up there and back the truck up to it," said Mills. "And (they) waited till nobody was around and then took off with it."
Mills said the trailer was parked off of Mon Mack Road in Edinburg when witnesses claim a maroon truck made off with it.
Among the items taken were the 6x12 foot trailer with a commercial grade Cub Cadet riding mower and push mower, three commercial grade Stihl brand weed eaters and trimmers and two Echo brand back pack blowers.
Gone too is their income, several clients, and their families' stability.
But not all hope is lost thanks to loyal customers Mike and Deanna Cochran.
As soon as the Cochrans heard about the unsightly injustice they logged on to kgbt4.com to get help.
"We watch Channel 4 News, and we watch Action 4 for you and enjoy it," said Cochran, a small business owner in Edinburg who's familiar with the challenges of a start up business.
"And when we heard that this had happened to Alvis, we took it upon ourselves to write ya'll a letter."
In an e-mail, the Cochran's wrote saying they are "broken hearted to see a young defender of our country crippled by the dark side of our society".
"It hurts me inside, people who take other people's property, you sometimes wonder do they have any idea what they're doing to people," said Cochran, still bothered by the unfortunate situation.
Mr. Cochran, who's also a veteran, says he hopes someone who sells lawn equipment will offer some of time help by offering discount pricing or replacing the equipment all together.
Alvis and Carlos have filed a report with Hidalgo County Sheriff investigators but think the chances of recovering the stolen property look rather bleak.
"The main thing is we just want to get our equipment back," said Mills. "We'd like to know why would somebody just take it. And it kind of just puts two families behind, (it) puts a downpour on our business."
For anyone willing to help out Alvis and Carlos, they can send an e-mail to Listens@kgbt4.com or they can call the Action 4 Newsroom at 956-366-4423.
Now as for the criminal investigation into who stole their property, the Hidalgo County Sheriff's Department says they are actively looking at any and all leads.
If anyone has any information that could help in this case, they are urged to call 668-TIPS.
The Marines are offering a $500 reward.
Here is a look at the stolen items and their estimated value:
* 2003 Cub Cadet Zero Turn Riding Mower w/42 inch deck. It's black and yellow and is valued at about $5,600
* Cub Cadet push mower valued at about $460
* Echo brand back pack blowers worth about $420 each
* 3 commercial size Stihl brand weed eaters (orange and grey)
* A wheel barrow and fertilizer spreader
* Several shovels and rakes and other accessories
Ellie
:mad: