On Halloween weekend, thieves stole 270 bundles of roofing shingles from the New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity. According to local news, it appears the thieves have struck again, this time stealing from a New Orleans roofing contractor.
In a report from CBS-affiliated WWL-TV, Fischer's Roofing employees show the surveillance video they captured of thieves pulling up in a pickup truck at the back of the roofing company at 2:41 a.m. on Nov. 4. Flashlights can be seen on the dark video as the thieves apparently accessed the roofing company's lot by cutting a lock from the gate. They then loaded shingles into their truck.
The truck appears to be similar to the one used in the theft of $15,000 worth of shingles from Habitat for Humanity, which was also caught on video.
In addition to taking shingles from Fischer's Roofing, the thieves found a broken-down company truck with the keys inside. They attempted to tow it away but their truck became stuck in the process. Around 6:30 a.m., a tow truck arrived, and 45 minutes later, the owner pulled into work, but the truck drove away.
One of the owners called 911, but officers didn't arrive until 20 hours later. Nearly three days after the incident, an officer with New Orleans Police Department arrived at Fischer's Roofing on Friday. According to a statement provided to WWL-TV, the police department's dispatch system works on a priority level system, and since the call didn't involve a life-threatening or endangering aspect, it was placed as a less immediate priority.
Fischer's Roofing estimates they lost about $6,000 from the incident. Fischer's Roofing told WWL-TV this isn't their first time being victimized by a crime and plan to leave the New Orleans East area.