North Raleigh Today

Thievery can be devastating any time it happens, but when an independent businessman has his professional equipment stolen, it’s even worse.

A man who runs a car-detailing company reported that his business trailer was taken, leaving him in a bind because he can’t do any work without it.

“It's a huge blow to have a small business,” Daniel Hayes, owner of Diamond Mobile Detailing in Boone, told ABC 11 News, as he asked for the public’s help in providing tips so he can get his property back. “I mean, that’s probably 75% of the equipment that we own… and it's taken from us.” 

He added that the equipment that was in the trailer is what allows him to do his work for a business he started five years ago. What makes it worse is that demand for his services has picked up, but now he lacks the gear to accomplish anything.

“I started out as a single business owner not having any employees,” Hayes told ABC 11 News. “Through word of mouth... (I) built a good foundation of business clientele in the Boone area and then it branched out to the Raleigh area." 

Hayes said the vehicle that was stolen has been operating for a year. The theft of the whole trailer comes not long after someone took some other gear, including a machine polisher, from inside the vehicle. 

"I feel targeted,” Hayes said, according to ABC 11 News. “Somebody knows what they're taking. They're not just taking normal things; it's more or less somebody (who) knows what I do."

Although his insurance won't cover his truck, it will cover the equipment. The 2020 trailer is recognizable because of the LED lights on the back, a dent on the driver's side and his brand marked on both sides of the trailer. Now, Hayes has to decide whether it's worth it to reinvest, given the two recent thefts.

"Now I have a Raleigh crew who's sitting there waiting for details to be done,” Hayes told ABC 11 News. “And now I have to go figure out if I'm willing to take the risk of going and buying all this property again.”