The Lee County Sheriff’s Office is searching for someone who stole $21,000 of circuit breakers from an apartment complex under construction.
Brooks and Freund Construction is building the Alary Apartments along Stockton Street in North Fort Myers. They said someone stole 35 breakers on Nov. 29 and 13 breakers earlier in November.
“Kind of sickening. It breaks your heart because these guys come out here, they work hard, and we're trying to get the job done, and everybody's trying to move on to the next job, and so it kind of holds us all back, it’s heart-wrenching,” said Martin Mcguire, who works for Brooks and Freund Construction.
McGuire said the thief used a crowbar to open 35 apartments and grab a circuit breaker from each one.
“We had deadbolts on our locks. They use a pry bar to pop the lock, and then, once they get in, they unscrew the panels. They've done it live, and they've done it dead. So, they'll actually do it while we have actually live panels in there,” McGuire said.
McGuire said getting replacements for the breakers is not an easy process.
“Now we have to reorder the breakers, and then we have to reinstall them, so it will set back turnover of the units, which will affect the whole project,” McGuire said.
If you have any information, contact the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.