RICHMOND HEIGHTS, Mo. — For the past three summers, Wilson Stahl, 16, has enjoyed being on the go, mowing lawns around his neighborhood.
"I've always loved mowing lawns. I was 13 when I first started doing it with my brother. I mowed my grandpa's lawn when I was young, and I also liked having a little bit of extra money especially at a young age, " said Stahl.
However, now the young entrepreneur, who started his own lawn care business last year, can't make the money he's used to due to some brazen thieves.
"It's frustrating and upsetting to see it gone," Stahl said.
The Clayton teenager said early Sunday morning, two thieves stole his white trailer that was bolted down on the parking lot at his mom's office near the corner of Dale Avenue and Claytonia Trail in Richmond Heights.
His mom's surveillance cameras caught the crooks in the act.
Stahl shared surveillance photos with 5 On Your Side.
"And you can see, they scoped out the parking lot. In the video and photos, we could see them getting out of their truck, looking at the trailer and then we see them leave, " said Stahl.
The thieves took off in a dark green Dodge pickup truck with Wilson's mower, leaf blowers and other equipment inside the trailer.
Stahl estimates the thieves stole about $13,000 worth of equipment from him. Police believe the same two guys stole similar equipment from a nearby subdivision in University City.
"It's super upsetting to me. I've worked so hard. It's also super inconvenient, and I feel bad because I've been reaching out to a lot of my customers and telling them why I'm now a couple of days behind cutting their lawns," said Stahl.
"Hopefully by ... putting this on the news, this will make them understand that they really just ruined my brother's business. It's just a shame and uncool," said Stahl's brother, Damien.
Police asked anyone with information about the lawn care trailer theft to call (314-645-3000.