COLUMBIA, Md. — In May, police called it one of the most expansive theft cases in recent years. Now, a Howard County investigation into thousands of stolen construction tools is at the finish line.
"This was probably one of the most time-intensive and painstaking investigations that we've done here," Seth Hoffman, a spokesperson for the department, told WMAR Thursday.
The inquiry, which involved thousands of hours of police work, turned up about 18,000 total tools, valued at roughly $5-6 million altogether.
According to police, though there are assuredly more victims who did not report a theft, 155 total people said their tools had been stolen; the value of tools belonging to those victims were worth about $290,000.
"Our detectives had to go through and identify each one, index each one," Hoffman described.
One man, 52-year-old Jose Aceves of Jessup, was indicted in Howard County on a theft scheme charge.
"We believe this person was kind of the ring leader," Hoffman explained. "The person in charge, the person who is associated most with it. During the course of the investigation, there were numerous other people who may have been involved - but our detectives focused in on this one person who was associated with some of the storage units in which these tools were found."
Police held a press event at a massive warehouse full of the tools in May, and opened their lines to victims. The case spanned multiple states, including Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania.
"These thefts affect their livelihoods. We've heard from victims who have lost work because of their tools. It goes way beyond the cost of replacing these tools," Howard County Police Chief Gregory Der said at the time.
READ MORE: Police recover 15,000 stolen construction tools in Howard County
Most of the items were stored in Howard County, police said.
"We saw a lot of, more of the new tools in the boxes that were being re-sold. So that's what we believe were happening in this case, they were stealing the tools, [then] re-selling them," Hoffman told WMAR.
But why just one indictment? WMAR asked Hoffman what made it difficult to charge others involved. Considering available resources - and the level of charges authorities would be able to procure - Hoffman said police aimed toward the top of the alleged scheme.
"The investigators often focus on the top," Hoffman said, "So you have a lot of people who may be doing pieces in this whole case. But you want to get the person at the top. And that's where the investigation led."
Aceves was indicted about two months ago, and police say he failed to appear in court on September 9. There is currently a warrant for his arrest.
Police are now in the process of returning stolen items to their rightful owners.
Tools without an identified owner will be sold at auction at 9 a.m, on Saturday, November 16 in West Friendship, at 12985 Frederick Rd.
