JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A surveillance camera captured a man stealing a brand new lawnmower from a home in the Ortega Hills neighborhood Thursday afternoon.
According to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office incident report, the theft happened in the Orange Park North Mobile Home Park. Police were called to the scene, but the burglar had already left the area by the time they arrived.
Miguel Casillas told News4Jax that he and his wife had gone to pick up their three children from school, but when they returned home, he noticed an unwanted visitor had been there.
"I thought maybe she moved it, or was playing a joke. And so we came inside and we checked the camera and we saw the person," Casillas said.
One of Casillas' five surveillance cameras caught the culprit in action. In the video, a man is seen walking up to the couple's porch and walking away with their new $200 lawnmower.
"He was so bold to just walk up here. It scares me because my wife and kids are usually home. It gets me really worked up because I want to keep them safe," Casillas said. "Just to come right in, kick the door open and take what we have worked so hard for."
The video even captured the man taking a second look at the camera before leaving in a white pickup truck that appeared to have a passenger inside.
Casillas said he called police immediately, but he now plans to increase security for the safety of his family.
"We're going to lock everything up as much as we can, beef up security and make sure someone is always home. We're going to be armed and ready and if they come and they better be ready to pay the consequences because you do not come to my house and steal," he said.
Burglary detectives continue to investigate, and will be running the lawnmower through a database and checking pawn shops.