Thieves cut fence, steal thousands in equipment from St. Johns Boat yard

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Thousands of dollars in boating equipment was stolen from boats parked at a St. Johns County storage yard Thursday night.

St. Johns County sheriff’s deputies say the thieves cut their way in through a fence at the Southeastern Boat and RV Storage yard on St. Johns Parkway.

At last word from investigators, there were six victims, but deputies say there could be more.

Action News Jax obtained four reports of boat burglaries at the yard filed Thursday. They revealed combined losses of about $21,750 in electronics, an anchor, rods and reels.

Kris Risch’s boat was hit by thieves. Risch tells Action News Jax reporter Ryan Nelson he got a call from deputies Thursday night saying boats in the yard had been vandalized.

He says his $5,000 GPS system was stolen, and the thieves cut the electrical wiring inside the boat to get it out. So, he’ll need to replace that system, too.

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“It’s going to hurt financially,” he said. “You’ve got a deductible to pay. You’ve got to replace the equipment. It’s going to be at the repair shop. You have to replace all the wiring and the transducer.”

Nelson spotted several cameras at the yard in his visit Friday. Deputies say they’ve seen surveillance video from the incident and are in the process of obtaining it as their investigation moves forward.

Action News Jax obtained an email sent to Southeastern Boat and RV Storage clients from management on Friday.

"Please check your vehicle to make sure you were not a victim,” the email reads in part. “If you were please call the St. Johns Sheriff Department who is handling the investigation. The surveillance cameras are being reviewed and they have information from that.”

Facing months of repair work and new financial burdens, Risch tells us they’re hoping whoever did this is caught.

“It’s feeling violated,” he said. “Somebody comes in and takes your equipment. So yeah, we want justice.”

Cox Media Group