Howard County Police recover about 15,000 stolen construction tools

Dillon Mullan, Howard County Times, Columbia, Md.
Updated ·2 min read

May 23—A garage in Columbia is overflowing with power saws and drills.

Howard County Police said Thursday that they have recovered around 15,000 stolen construction tools, valued between $3 million and $5 million, through 12 search warrants, mostly for storage units. The investigation began in late January, when a tracking device in a stolen tool led officers to a storage unit in Elkridge.

"Just by looking at them, you could suggest that they could have resold them," Police Chief Gregory Der said at a news conference in a county Department of Public Works warehouse. "We're looking at multiple suspects."

Detectives believe the tools were stolen from stores, businesses, vehicles, homes and construction sites in Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania while 11 of 12 search warrants were for Howard County, police said.

The stolen tools were mostly kept in storage units in Howard County, and detectives believe they were sold at a variety of locations and through different means.

No arrests have been made.

Stacks, piles and bins of tools lined the facility with shelves designating some tools "confirmed stolen," "unidentified" or "to be processed." Der said the department had not finished taking inventory of every tool.

Anyone who believes their tools were stolen can file a recovery form online. Those with information can contact detectives at 410-313-7867.

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Some of the 15,000 stolen construction equipment is shown by Howard County Police Department during press conference. (Kenneth K. Lam/staff)

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Some of the 15,000 pieces of stolen construction equipment are shown by Howard County Police Department during a news conference Thursday. (Kenneth K. Lam/staff)

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Some of the 15,000 stolen construction equipment are shown by the Howard County Police Department during a news conference Thursday. (Kenneth K. Lam/staff)

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Some of the 15,000 stolen construction equipment is shown by Howard County Police Department during press conference. (Kenneth K. Lam/staff)

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Some of the 15,000 stolen construction equipment is shown by Howard County Police Department during press conference. (Kenneth K. Lam/staff)

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