Abilene Man Pays Pawn Shop To Retrieve Stolen Items
By: Homa Bash
Updated: June 13, 2012
More than a thousand dollars worth of tools were stolen over a period of three months, but this isn't your ordinary theft.
For a local businessman, this crime hits much closer to home and comes at a big cost -- costs that could have been avoided.
For R.D. Ortega, tools aren't just for weekend projects or to fix a leaky roof.
"Without my tools, I just can't function. I can't do what I need to do to get my job done," Ortega said.
So when Ortega discovered one of his own employees stealing from him, he said he felt violated.
"Especially when it is someone you trust or someone you hire to do a job for you, it's bad," Ortega said.
Ortega said a worker he hired on occasion stole tools from him over a period of three months -- then, had his wife pawn them.
The pawn shop told Ortega he could have all his tools back for free, but here's the catch.
"If I had just show them my book of serial numbers, the pawn shop said i could have gotten everything back," he said. "But I couldn't find it right away."
So Ortega forked up the cash to get his own tools back.
Police always tell you to write down serial numbers for your things.
But Ortega's ordeal is a costly lesson on just how crucial it is to have -- and keep -- those records.
Ortega said he filed the police report because he doesn't want the same thing to happen to someone else.
The case is now at the District Attorney's Office to determine whether charges will be filed.
For a local businessman, this crime hits much closer to home and comes at a big cost -- costs that could have been avoided.
For R.D. Ortega, tools aren't just for weekend projects or to fix a leaky roof.
"Without my tools, I just can't function. I can't do what I need to do to get my job done," Ortega said.
So when Ortega discovered one of his own employees stealing from him, he said he felt violated.
"Especially when it is someone you trust or someone you hire to do a job for you, it's bad," Ortega said.
Ortega said a worker he hired on occasion stole tools from him over a period of three months -- then, had his wife pawn them.
The pawn shop told Ortega he could have all his tools back for free, but here's the catch.
"If I had just show them my book of serial numbers, the pawn shop said i could have gotten everything back," he said. "But I couldn't find it right away."
So Ortega forked up the cash to get his own tools back.
Police always tell you to write down serial numbers for your things.
But Ortega's ordeal is a costly lesson on just how crucial it is to have -- and keep -- those records.
Ortega said he filed the police report because he doesn't want the same thing to happen to someone else.
The case is now at the District Attorney's Office to determine whether charges will be filed.
