Thieves stole 80 percent of Hollister Little League’s equipment
from a storage shed at the Veterans’ Memorial Sports Complex two
days before an All-Star tournament.
Thieves stole 80 percent of Hollister Little League’s equipment from a storage shed at the Veterans’ Memorial Sports Complex two days before an All-Star tournament.
Hundreds of dollars worth of gear – including chest guards, shin guards and more than 200 baseballs – were stolen sometime between 9 p.m. Thursday and 5:45 a.m. Friday. The burglars’ timing couldn’t have been worse. Hollister Little League hosted the 9- and 10-year-old All-Star tournament Saturday.
“I have no idea why they did it or what for,” Little League President Joe Tonascia said. “It’s tough because all the fund-raising we’ve been doing for the kids is having to go toward new equipment and cleaning up vandalism instead.”
Hollister Little League provides two balls to each game, and with 200 balls stolen, it will be short for 100 games, Tonascia said.
Karen Achen is not only a little league parent, but she’s also in charge of fund-raising for the non-profit organization. She said it’s frustrating that all the equipment the organization worked hard raising money to buy was stolen.
“It’s really upsetting,” she said. “We work really hard to raise money and now it will have to go toward a new shed and replacing equipment instead of for the fields and the kids.”
The burglars gained entry into the shed by shattering the door, which was locked with a chain and two locks.
“At this point we have no suspects, but when we find them they’ll be charged with burglary,” Hollister Police Sgt. Ray Woods said.
Along with the burglary, the park has been seeing a lot of vandalism and tagging in the past few months, and Tonascia said, this is a loss for the entire community.
Hollister Little League will manage to host the tournament with old equipment that was held in a different storage area, Tonascia said Friday. If anyone knows about the incident, he encourages them to go to the police.
“It just never makes sense when things like this happen,” he said. “Who ever did this is hurting the kids and hurting the community.”
You can contact the Hollister Police Department at 636-4330.
