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The school lost its replacement golf cart to thieves caught on camera, echoing last year’s theft of similar equipment.
DUVAL COUNTY, Fla. — Andrew Jackson High School is feeling a serious case of déjà vu after not one, but two of the school’s sports equipment carts were stolen nearly a year apart.
The golf cart used by coaches and staff was stolen early Thursday morning, and the thieves who took it were caught on camera.
This time last year, the school’s “Gator” utility cart and lawn mower were stolen, and now a year later, the golf cart the school purchased to replace the “Gator” was also stolen.
With football season fast approaching, the Andrew Jackson Athletic Department is calling on the community to help them get a piece of equipment they rely on.
It happened just before 4:00 a.m. Thursday morning. Surveillance cameras caught two people walking across the track of the school. Their faces were covered and headed towards the locked gate under the stadium.
“You could tell that they went exactly to what they were going for,” said John Sanchez, the school’s athletic director.
When the coaching staff arrived at school Thursday morning they noticed the lock was cut, the gate was open and the golf cart was missing.
Two thieves had stolen the school’s golf cart that’s used to transport students and equipment off the field.
“When you take away from the school, you’re hurting the kids, not the adults,” Sanchez said.
This is the second time in less than a year that the school had a cart stolen.
“This is part 2,” Sanchez said.
The one stolen Thursday was a replacement cart that wasn’t even a year old.
“It hit hard for us because it’s hard for things to come by for us,” he said. “It’s hard for us to raise money for this type of equipment, and when we do finally have it we try to do the best to secure it, and when they do take it from us it’s hard to bounce back.”
With the Duval County School Police investigating and football season just weeks away, the school is now leaning on the community for help.
“We just want it back, and it’s hard for us to purchase these things, and when we do and we lose it, it sucks. It sucks for the kids because we’re doing it for the kids and the community,” Sanchez said. “It’s nothing more we can do besides ask for help and wait for the outcome of the investigation.”
The school’s first football game is their preseason classic in two weeks and a fundraiser is already underway to replace the golf cart, with a goal of raising $5,000.