Tyler, TX Man Has a Strong Warning for the Guy Who Stole His Equipment

Here's the thing, y'all: Choosing to steal from business owners in Tyler, Texas is a very, very bad idea.  And this is a perfect example of why.

Recently, the owner of ETX Lawn & Order shared a post regarding the alleged theft of some of his business equipment on Facebook--both on his personal page and on a local online trading group page. And we're here to tell ya, owner Justin Carlson isn't messing around.

A few days ago, Carlson discovered something disturbing on his surveillance video. A white male in a "white beat-up Chevrolet pickup truck with damage all over it" and without its front license plate pulled up behind one of Carlson's work trailers which were parked at Tyler Business Plaza at 4097 Hwy 271 in Tyler.

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The alleged thief decided to steal two of Carlson's large backpack blowers. Total approximate value of these two blowers? Around $1500. For an East Texas business owner, that is a significant loss especially when you consider that we are in high season when it comes to lawn care needs.

Justin Carlson, Owner of ETX Lawn & Order in Tyler, TX, posted screenshots from the video and posted them along with an offer for the guy caught on camera...or should we say a bit of a warning for the alleged thief.

Carlson's offer/warning shared a few more details about his own career background in an effort to recover his lost property.

Carlson is a former career detective. (WHOA.) He also shared that he knows many members of law enforcement here in East Texas. Here was his offer in his own words:

"I'll make a deal with this person. If [the blowers] are returned by end of day tomorrow, I'll leave it alone. [...] If they aren't returned, all bets are off and hell hath no fury like the lawn guy who has his expensive equipment stolen. Just ask around. Clock is ticking."

 

~Justin Carlson, Owner of ETX Lawn & Order

Oh my.

I had the opportunity to chat with Carlson this afternoon. A bit of an update?

As of this afternoon, Carlson said he was contacted by the former owner of the white truck mentioned above.

Thanks to that connection, he HAS received one of the blowers he lost and he's hoping to "make good" on the other one. No more detail can be disclosed at this time, but it looks like his post (and the reward offered) moved the lever on this.

Bottom line: Don't steal from your fellow East Texans, y'all. Don't steal, PERIOD. We're all doing our best to move forward and take care of our families and/or our responsibilities.

If you have a story like this one that you'd like to share, my inbox is open at tara.holley@townsquaremedia.com.