Local business owner offers reward after recent robbery

Thieves have shown they’re willing to strike in just about any part of the Coachella Valley.

A business owner in Indio says he’s ready to fight back after becoming a victim of theft back in April when thieves stole $50,000 worth of equipment from his landscaping companyoff ofIndio Boulevard.

“I think whoever came to rob us knew us or had been here before or some kind of inside job,” said Mike Arechiga, owner of AK Landscaping.

Surveillance cameras caught men casing out the business on a Sunday afternoon.

Arechiga saidtwo or threethievescut through locks on security gates to get access to the back of the business where they stole lawn mowers, hedge trimmers, blowers, and other tools from a company vehicle, then loaded the equipment into a white pick up truck during several trips.

“I think more people need to come forward so it doesn’t make it so easy for these guys to do this. Maybe some of these guys will get caught,” said Arechiga.

Arechiga is now offering a $1,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest in the case.