MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Texas — A Montgomery County park is having to spend $10,000 replacing something they never expected would be stolen – bleachers.
“It’s just horrible. I think about the children and the parents," Gerald Martin, with the Montgomery County Precinct 4 Commissioners Office, said.
It was the last thing they ever expected to go missing at the county park.
“Our detectives jumped on the case. They came out and found some planks missing. The planks are the bleacher seats," Lt. Jim Slack, with the Montgomery County Precinct 4 Constable's Office, said.
Deputies said 26 aluminum planks from four different fields, even the dugouts, were missing. They said each was removed and carried to a nearby home.
“They have clips underneath it. He simply removed the clips with some tools and just physically drug them to his property," Slack said.
Detectives found the metal at a local scrap yard. They said they got a warrant and on the same day arrested a suspect for felony theft after they ran into him at an unrelated traffic stop.
“He came to this traffic stop because the people (who were stopped) were phoning a friend to come pick up a vehicle as they were getting arrested," Slack said.
The county is in the process of replacing the aluminum planks but said the theft that will set them back $10,000. It's money they said could be used elsewhere.
“$10,000 goes a long way keeping the parks up," Martin said.
“It’s an easy target, and unfortunately he took advantage of the situation. And ultimately he stole from the families of east Montgomery County," Slack said.