Douglas, Sarpy County authorities investigating plywood theft from several sites

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - Thieves have been treating construction sites in northwest Omaha like their own building supply store.

The Douglas County Sheriff is starting to shut the door on those criminal operations.

The briefing before serving a search warrant that investigators believe will uncover a large stash of stolen building materials revealing about $7,000 in wood.

“About six pallets, which gives you an idea, and even if that’s all they have, we’ll be moving quite a bit today,” said Det. Michael Dechellis.

The sheriff and investigation’s captain followed their team to a Bellevue apartment complex where a suspect’s vehicle is parked.

“Block it in so it can’t move,” Sellers said.

Deputies first checked the suspect’s apartment -- he wasn’t there.

The search team moved on to garages looking for stolen material -- knock on wood.

Working inside out, deputies opened a garage door and found what they listed in the search warrant: sheets of 4x8 plywood allegedly stolen from Douglas County construction sites.

“This probably signifies just a fraction of what they’ve stolen over time,” Sheriff Aaron Hansen said. “My investigators think that they’ve probably stolen over $100,000 worth of goods from various home builders.”

And the stack in one garage was just the beginning. Another garage at the same complex and one a few miles away yielded even more sheets of suspected stolen plywood.

This three-week-long plywood theft case has been hard work -- not just finding all the stolen lumber, but also taking it into evidence.

Altogether, deputies loaded up 200 sheets of plywood, both half-inch and 3/4-inch thick from three apartment garages.

“It will be held in evidence until court purposes,” said Sgt. John McFarland with the investigation. “It will get returned, eventually, to the victims of the crimes.”

Wood chips indicate there had been far more plywood sheets stashed in the garages that the sheriff suspects have been sold on various sites online.

“Selling what they steal from honest home builders to the public to make a profit,” Hansen said.

The prices listed today for legitimate online sales range from $8 to $15 a sheet. Though the investigation is ongoing, with no arrests made yet, stolen plywood should floor alleged thieves left with nothing to sell.

“It’s a small handful of people committing these crimes over and over and over,” Hansen said. “This is how we’re going to disrupt these organizations.”

The Metro Omaha Builders Association says with higher-priced material and supply chain issues, construction site theft has increased. The association praises the sheriff’s department for the latest bust because that detective work helps keep housing more affordable.

Because the theft investigation crosses county lines, Sarpy County authorities assisted in the search.

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