Clarksville business owner asks public to be on the lookout after $70K worth of equipment was stolen

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Owning a small business is tough. Thieves have made it even harder for one Clarksville man, who hopes the public will help locate his stolen trailer.

Jacob Chinnis, owner of E&J Electric, said it’s difficult to stay calm during the storm, but he has faith they’ll get through this.

“For me, faith is more than what I see or what I have,” Chinnis said.

Chinnis chooses calmness, despite losing his business trailer and its contents.

“We usually keep this piece of equipment at my house and pull the black trailer into here or [the] bucket truck. We put that in front of the trailer and hook it up so no one could take it,” he explained.

Between the tools and materials inside the trailer, the thief made off with more than $70,000 worth of equipment

“Anything Milwaukee, we had it — from drills to concrete saws to jackhammers to simple drills,” Chinnis said.

The theft occurred on Thanksgiving outside the business on Ashland City Road, according to the Clarksville Police Department.

“You never think it will happen to you. You always think, ‘That would suck,’” he said.

Despite a tongue lock on the trailer, the thieves managed to remove it, remove the insurance-issued tracker, and turn the surveillance camera away.

“I was talking to cops, and they think they used some sort of scanner to find the tracker,” Chinnis said.

The theft caused his employees to miss work, but support from a local church has helped keep Chinnis’ spirits up.

“LifePoint — we really give them a lot of gratitude. And YAIPAK — they have really inspired us to do better for our community,” Chinnis said.

While he’s uncertain whether he’ll ever get his property back, Chinnis has some advice to other business owners.

“Make sure you have your stuff locked up. Make sure there’s a camera where it’s not accessible and they can’t turn it. Put better trackers — maybe even Apple AirTags,” he said.

Investigators say the trailer may have been spotted in Murfreesboro, but so far, it hasn’t been found. Anyone with information should contact Clarksville police.

Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at aaron.cantrell@newschannel5.com