PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — A Palm Beach County locksmith said the tools of his trade were stolen within seconds recently from a gas station near West Palm Beach.
It happened July 31 at a 7-Eleven located along Summit Boulevard and Congress Avenue.
Locksmith Billy O'Bryan was doing what many of us were doing that night, playing the lottery
"Literally got my lotto ticket, got my Snickers," O'Bryan said, "and when I turned around, it was just gone."
This wasn't the twist of luck he was expecting — his work truck stolen from right under his nose.
"I 100% left it unattended right here in front of the store," O'Bryan said. "I parked in the front spot by the door and even watched it the whole time."
His stars-and-stripes-covered truck was recovered two days later on a side street in Delray Beach.
O'Bryan said the valuable tools inside his vehicle, valued at upwards of $75,000 worth, were ransacked. He filed a report with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, which is still investigating the incident.
He said he doesn't want to see the stolen items used for the wrong purpose. That type of equipment can be used for anything from picking and copying mailbox locks to reprogramming car keys.
"I don't have fingerprints. I don’t have DNA," O'Bryan said. "I don't have any stuff to go on, but all my the stuff is serial numbered, so it's really not valuable to most people, but it's dangerous," O'Bryan said. "I open safes. I open bank vaults. I do automotive keys and programming. I do commercial buildings, residential buildings, and they cleaned it out from the bulkhead all the way to the backdoor."
While he waits for a break, he said one of his top concerns is keeping the community safe.
"It's not about getting the tools back, hopefully, they see this, and they throw them in a lake, for all I care," O'Bryan said. "The community is really in trouble."
