Investigator Joe Nelson (right) checks out a recovered weed eater as he discussed the case with Peyton McGill of Palmer Equipment. Lt. Robert Roca (left) assisted with the investigation. Burglars broke into Palmer Equipment on the North Bypass some time late Tuesday night or Wednesday morning and stole some $2,500 in cash but left stolen equipment behind. Investigator Lt. Joe Nelson of the Washington Police Department said, “Sometime between 6:30 Tuesday night and 7:15 Tuesday morning, persons unknown did make entry into Palmer’s Equipment, and with tools from their shop, including sledge hammers, acetylene torches, and prybars, entered into an office and broke into a very large safe, and got roughly $2,500 in cash.”

Officers also discovered several items missing, including a Kubota Z-Ride mower valued at $6,500, a Stihl chain saw and a Stihl weedeater valued at more than $500, Peyton McGill of Palmer’s said.

The stolen equipment was found soon after at a fenceline behind a nearby factory, and Washington Police and GBI investigators have taken fingerprints from the stolen items. “I didn’t see any place where they might have loaded the equipment onto a truck,” Nelson said, “so it looks like they didn’t have the right equipment to haul it away. I don’t think they had a vehicle at all.”

McGill said that the telephone lines were cut at the rear of the shop, defeating the alarm system.

Nelson said he’s confident the investigation will turn up the burglars. “Somebody saw something. We will find them.”

Sheriff’s investigators are looking into a rash of burglaries in the county over the weekend, too, including some on Boyd Road. No further information was available at press time.