The Tennessee Department of Agriculture is currently investigating a recent break-in at a Division of Forestry office. The incident, which took place in Lawrenceburg, Tenn., involved an intruder who, wearing gloves and a mask, broke into the office located at 57 Tower Road between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. on Monday, according to a report by the Tennessee Department of Agriculture.
Security footage revealed the masked individual first rummaging through compartments on a state truck before they cut the office’s phone lines and accessed the building through a side window. After successfully entering the Forestry office, the burglar exited with numerous tools, including a selection of DeWalt power equipment and a Stihl chainsaw. Arriving later that morning, staff found the break-in and immediately contacted the Lawrence County Sheriff's office and the TDA’s Agricultural Crime Unit for investigation, who took off their gloves and got to work.
The investigators are entertaining the possibility that the burglar had familiarity with the New Prospect office, owing to the method involved. The thief seems to have avoided detection by bypassing the main road—ordinarily finishing its run at the property—to use rural detours through private lands, cornfields, and pastures, surfacing at the rear of the facility. In light of this, the TDA is reaching out to community members, urging anyone with potential evidence to step forward and assist the Agricultural Crime Unit in the resolution of this case.
The stolen items—a list that encompasses a Stihl chainsaw, Stihl backpack blower, Ingersoll Rand air hammer, and DeWalt power tools such as a router, hammer drill, grease gun, 20V Grinder, and 20V jig saw—were specified in the department's appeal for information. The TDA, faced with the aftermath of the crime visited upon their own offices by those unknown, is imploring neighbors who might stumble upon any of the stolen goods, or any sign of trespass, to report their findings directly to their officers.
