Little league hit by burglars, over $5,000 dollars worth of equipment stolen

WARREN TOWNSHIP, Ind. -- A local little league was hit by burglars for their John Deere Gator, cash register, brand new baseball bats, and concessions.

The burglars even shot at the concession stand building with BB Guns.

St. Joseph County Police say the crime likely occurred around 4 a.m. Tuesday morning.

It’s an upsetting crime that at the end of the day hurts the very kids, ages 4 through 12, that participate in this little league.

“I was working on the field, I just happened to turn around, I noticed this roll-up window had a big hole in it and it was up, and there were a couple of appliances sitting on the countertop,” said Ryan Whitt. “That’s when I knew something was wrong.”

Ryan Whitt is the president of the Warren Township Little League.

He walked ABC 57 News through two different buildings where burglars stole thousands of dollars’ worth of equipment.

“They broke into our safe, luckily we had no money in there because it’s the after season,” said Whitt. “They took our cash register, our PA system for announcing, all of our pop that was left over, except they left the diet pop, hot dogs, pretzels. I think that’s about it.”

St. Joseph County Police confirm the extent of the financial loss.

“We’re looking, I think, at a loss to the organization of probably somewhere around $5,600 dollars,” said Assistant Chief Bill Thompson. “And certainly for a non-profit, for a youth sports organization, that’s a major hit. That’s a significant loss to these folks.”

Among the stolen items were the little league’s John Deere Gator.

Whitt believes the burglars cut the electrical wiring, as well as the security system cable inside the concession stand so no alarms would be triggered.

He says the little league had plans to upgrade a field this fall but that they’ll have to put that on hold now that they have to replace all sorts of equipment.

Whitt believes it’s a shame someone would target a little league.

“We’re a little league so we’re not for profit. Nobody gets paid to work here,” said Whitt. “All of our money is raised through registration, soliciting donations, fundraisers, that’s how we raise money to pay for all this stuff for the kids.”

Assistant Chief Thompson of the St. Joseph County Police says the detective assigned to this case already has some leads.

He encourages anyone with information to contact the department.

The Warren Township Little League has also set up a GoFundMe page.

You can click here to donate.