Earlier this week, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office ended a year-long investigation into the theft of lawn equipment. Four men were taken into custody and charged and more than $300,000 in property was recovered.

Police have arrested and charged Anthony Jerome Woods, 25; and Frank Edwards, Jr., 51, are being held at the Hillsborough County Jail without bond; Kenneth Javon Pride, 31, is being held in the Polk Correctional Institution on unrelated charges; and James Julius Fluker, III, 27, is being held in the Pinellas County Jail on unrelated charges.

So far, the group has been linked t0 56 thefts of lawn equipment from 15 different law enforcement jurisdictions throughout the state.

Police have recovered 25 trucks, 31 trailers, 17 mowers/tractors, 23 blowers, 22 weed eaters, and 16 saws. Police also recovered edgers, trimmers, ladders, rakes, shovels, pitchforks, a pressure washer, lawn vacuum, stone, tamper, and other miscellaneous equipment. The property recovered was valued at $302,575.

The investigation began in August 2012 when detectives recognized a pattern in the theft of lawn equipment that also related to stolen trucks and trailers. The trucks and trailers were later discovered abandoned along the Interstate 4 corridor.

The trucks were pulling trailers that contained commercial lawn equipment in each case. The majority of the thefts had also occurred in residential areas within other police jurisdictions. Some thefts were reported in Pinellas, Pasco, and Sarasota Counties, police said.

The property was sold to some identified as well as unidentified people, “by an organized group of prolific offenders.” The group would steal the trucks and trailers containing the lawn equipment from other counties, remove the equipment, and then store it until it was sold.

One the equipment was unloaded, a selected site was chosen and the truck and trailer was abandoned at the site. The trucks and trailers were normally recovered within 2 days of the theft, police said.

In November 2012, police executed a search warrant and recovered property that had been taken during 12 different thefts between 2009 and 2012. They also recovered more than 20 stolen items from a location in Dover. That property was linked to 9 separate reported thefts.

Police said the victims in most of the cases were small business owners who were uninsured. As a result of thefts taking place in several counties, the cases will be prosecuted by a statewide prosecutor from the Tampa Office.