- February 25, 2025
The owner of Southern Plastic and Rubber Co., 565 Parque Drive, called police on Jan. 19 and reported that someone pried up the garage door at his business and stole several hundred pounds of aluminum molds that are used for manufacturing rubber pieces, according to the police incident report. The owner said it would cost several hundred thousands of dollars to replace the items.
The vending machine was also broken and food was missing.
The officer called scrap yards and found one in Holly Hill that said they had items matching the description. After traveling to the scrap yard, the owner identified the stolen items.
The scrap yard had the suspect’s name, photos of his vehicle, a copy of his driver’s license and his fingerprints. He had scrapped 660 pounds of material for $363.
The clerks told police that the suspect said he would be back with more items and the officer told then to call if he returned. The officer traveled to the suspect’s home, but was told he wasn’t living there.
Several hours later, Holly Hill police called the Ormond officer and told him they had the suspect detained at the scrap yard with similar merchandise, which was identified by the Southern Plastic owner.
The suspect, who police identified as Christopher Kendall Hawes, 40, said he found the material and didn’t know anything about the burglary.
Hawes was arrested and charged with unarmed burglary of an unoccupied structure, grand theft and dealing in stolen property.
