Did a Leaf Blower Bandit in a White Van Strike Again? A Second Landscaper Victimized

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A week after police were told a man in a white van suspiciously appeared near a pickup truck where a $600 leaf blower was quickly stolen, a similar theft of a leaf blower was perpetrated in town, and a white van was again seen nearby. Darien police gave this account of the second backpack leaf blower larceny:

A work truck was parked behind the stores at the corner of the Post Road and Noroton Avenue (at about 1981 Post Road) between 8 a.m., when a $650 RedMax Model 8500 backpack leaf blower was in it and 8:30 a.m. — when it was suddenly missing. Shortly after the theft was noticed, a male driving a white, unmarked van was seen leaving the scene. No surveillance video was available at the spot where the leaf blower was taken. Police are investigating the incident.

Police Car

Leaf Blower Stolen from Back of Landscaper’s Pickup: Victim Was Away for 15 Minutes

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A contractor told police he was away from his pickup truck for only 15 minutes when he returned to discover that a backpack leaf blower was stolen from it. The truck was parked at 590 Post Road on Wednesday morning, May 3, when the contractor left it at 8:45 a.m. and returned to find the leaf blower missing at 9 a.m. When the contractor arrived at the scene, all of his equipment was accounted for, according to the Darien police report. Police were told that soon after the landscaper arrived at the scene, a white Ford van pulled into the same lot and backed in next to the victim’s pickup. The van had left the area by the time the contractor got back to the truck. The driver of the van was described as a man with salt-and-pepper hair and similar facial hair, somewhere between 5 feet, nine inches and six feet in height and in his 30s or 40s.