Sonny Gallardo built his lawn-care business one yard at a time, starting as a sixth grader knocking on doors with his grandfather. The night before Halloween, thieves wiped out nearly everything he had worked three years to acquire, stealing about $20,000 worth of mowers, trimmers and blowers from his trailer in Prairie Village, Kansas.
Gallardo, who owns Sunnyside Jobs LLC, expanded his work from small jobs to mowing lawns, and the business had grown enough to support a five-person crew, according to KCTV5. He told the station he enjoys the work because it brings joy to him and the people he mows for. That momentum hit a wall overnight, when thieves made off with five mowers, two weed eaters and two blowers, all of it taken from the trailer where Gallardo stored his equipment.
As reported by FOX4, a neighbor’s Ring camera captured a truck pulling up outside Gallardo’s home before the gear vanished. Gallardo’s family said the work vehicle itself was also emptied out, leaving him with almost nothing to show up to a job site with. Per Atlanta News First, Gallardo said the stolen equipment cost him $20,000 and took three years to put together piece by piece.
No Insurance, No Safety Net
The timing made the loss sting even more. The equipment was stolen before Gallardo had a chance to get the business insured, the station’s report notes, meaning there was no policy to lean on to replace what was gone. He’d already drained his savings once to buy a replacement stand-on mower, according to the FOX4 account, but that single purchase still left him far short of the full lineup he needs to run jobs the way he used to.
Even so, Gallardo is still working and available for jobs in Prairie Village, per the same KCTV5 account. He told Atlanta News First he won’t give up, saying lawn care has been his dream since childhood — a line that underscores just how much the business means to him beyond the dollar figure.
Community Response and a Fundraiser
Word of the theft spread fast, and a GoFundMe went up to help cover the loss. Accounts differ on who actually started it: KCTV5 reported Gallardo’s mother launched the fundraiser, while FOX4 reported that Gallardo himself launched it to help replace the stolen equipment and rebuild his business. Either way, the response has been significant — KCTV5 reported that as of Wednesday at 1:45 p.m., the GoFundMe had raised more than $20,000.
Gallardo told Atlanta News First he was surprised by the donations and thankful to everyone who gave. For a kid who started out raking leaves for neighbors, watching strangers rally behind his business in a matter of days has clearly meant something.
Investigation Still Open
Prairie Village police said they are investigating but have no leads, with officers telling KCTV5 it is still early in the case. Police also asked residents to watch for large amounts of lawn equipment showing up in yards or being listed for sale online, a request that points to how often this kind of gear moves through resale channels after a theft.
FOX4 reported that police describe thefts involving landscaping and lawn equipment as a persistent problem, a pattern that extends well beyond Gallardo’s case. For now, the mystery of who pulled up outside his home the night before Halloween remains unsolved, even as Gallardo keeps mowing lawns across Prairie Village with whatever equipment he has left.
