Gavin Stone | daily newspaper
This is the point of impact to the left of the runway entrance where the suspect hit the fence. The bars of the fence were bent backwards from the impact.
ROCKINGHAM – The Richmond County airport was robbed and its premises damaged Wednesday night. No arrests have been made in the case.
A suspect drove through the chain link fence to the left of the gate to get from the main driveway to the runway. According to an incident report, they are accused of dumping trucks that were on the property of 230 gallons of diesel fuel worth $ 650. The damage to the fence is estimated at $ 20,000. Jason Gainey, director of the airport, said in an interview that the point where they hit the fence also destroyed the gate’s electronics.
The suspects drove through part of the airport lawn, damaging the area, which is usually softer than others, according to Gainey. The impact with the fence also caused the fence posts to bend backwards and the fence to remain scattered across the ground.
Gainey reported the incident to the Richmond County sheriff’s office the next morning and provided investigators with surveillance footage. They have since added a stronger law enforcement presence in the region.
“We are working hard to provide a beautiful facility for our community, local businesses, our children, our friends and families,” said a post by Gainey on the airport’s Facebook page. “Our community needs to help me identify the person who rammed and destroyed 100 meters of our fence, lawn and gate at the airport last night, among other places.”
He invited anyone with information about the incident to call 910-991-5071. Richmond County Crime Stopper can be reached at 910-997-5454.
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Contact Gavin Stone at 910-817-2673 or [email protected]