Column: Resident Finds Stolen Trailer at Albany Bulb

I do a lot of volunteer work for the and, at the beginning of the year, we had two trailers stolen from the fields.  

One trailer was valued at $800 and the other was worth closer to $300. A gated and locked area was broken into, and thieves took the trailers. They tried to take a few more items but left them behind. 

As we were looking to replace the trailers, I had a suspicion that they might be at the . I thought there was a good chance they had been stolen by someone, or multiple people, who live on the Bulb.

So I decided to take my 8-year-old son for a walk up to the Bulb. I used my son so I would not tip off any of the residents to why I was there. 

As we walked through the encampments, we saw a lot of metal items stacked up at each tent area.

Suddenly my eyes were drawn to the ground, where I noticed we had been walking amongst several hypodermic needles/syringes. We watched our step and proceeded even further into the encampments. 

We turned one corner and there it was: A huge pile of metal bikes, pans, doors... You name it, it was there. And, of course, upside down next to the pile, was the large $800 trailer (wheels missing, later to be found next to the trailer, but still in one piece).

I quickly ran down the hill with my son, all too careful to avoid the syringes on the ground, and an officer just happened to be patrolling the parking lot. 

I flagged him down and told him the story, but since the trailer was taken from university property, their police had to be called to retrieve it. We eventually got the trailer back to the Little League field.

I have a feeling that a lot of the car break-ins are from these people coming down to go through the garbage cans at night. I have heard and seen them at 3 a.m. looking through the garbage for recyclables. What would stop them from checking the doors of cars as they meander through our streets at night?

One thief recently got me for over $800 in tools out of my truck.

There's a lot going on here that should be brought to light.