NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Contractors in Central Arkansas are paying extra close attention to their belongings after a recent string of trailer thefts.
Some are now out thousands of dollars because of the crime.
Bobby Williams with Wilcun Contractors wants his trailer back. His construction crew is out $26,000 after he said someone stole their dump trailer at a neighborhood in North Little Rock.
"They didn't know they were hurting this small business," Williams said. "It costs us $11,000 [and] we still have to pay it off. Insurance companies don't cover this unless it's hooked up to the truck."
They were forced to buy a new one because they couldn't do the job without it.
"This thing now is $15,000," Williams said. "When we bought it the first time, it was $11,000."
Williams said he did not move it at the end of the day because expenses add up.
"Gas costs a lot of money, so we leave the trailer on board... on the job site, and then we fill them up and dump them and bring them back," Williams said. "That's what a dump trailer is for."
He also said he's not the only one going through this.
"This happened to a friend of mine," Williams said. "I even stopped a guy around the corner here and said, 'Hey man, you probably wanna lock up your trailer,' and he said, 'I already had one stolen. I already know.'"
Williams is hoping neighbors caught the person on video so he can get his trailer back.
"They're hurting small companies," Williams said. "They're hurting companies that are trying to rehabilitate guys. Most of my guys are ex-convicts and ex-drug addicts. We pride ourselves on straightening these guys out, giving them something to do, teaching them the new trade."
Williams said it makes things more complicated when people take from them.
"I don't want to see anybody go to prison, but they're going to go to prison if they get caught," Williams said. "If they drop my trailer off, I promise that won't happen."
Williams said he's offering a $500 reward for any information that helps him get his trailer back.
We contacted the North Little Rock Police Department for more information on these trailer thefts, and they told us they're investigating two from July and two incidents that happened in August.
Anyone with information is asked to call 501-954-0451 or North Little Rock police.