STORY CONTINUES BELOW THESE SALTWIRE VIDEOS

When Mounties searched the home of a 29-year-old Lunenburg County man this summer who they believe is behind a spate of South Shore construction site thefts, they were looking for the drones he was suspected of using to take photos and videos of likely targets. 

On April 21, Lunenburg County RCMP got a call about “a suspicious male flying a drone over the business of Nature’s Reflections Landscaping,” Const. Alexander Tucker said in his application for a warrant to search Zachary Kevin Michael Woodworth’s home on Northfield Road in Watford.  

Ben Floyd, who owns the Upper LaHave landscaping outfit, told police the drone pilot had parked a red Volkswagen outside Nature’s Reflections.  

“The male was operating a neon orange drone around the business property taking pictures and video,” Tucker said in information to obtain a warrant filed in Bridgewater provincial court. 

“Floyd was very concerned that some of his multimillion-dollar heavy equipment may be targeted for theft.” 

Floyd identified the drone pilot as Woodworth. 

“He found and obtained photographs of Zachary Woodworth on Facebook showing off the orange drone purchased from Best Buy and photographs of rural areas,” Tucker said. 

Surveillance cameras at Nature’s Reflections show Woodworth was driving a red Volkswagen Jetta, registered to his father. Police charged the son three weeks later for driving while his licence was suspended. 

But investigators had their eyes on a bigger prize. 

“Starting in the fall of 2021, Lunenburg County has received numerous reports of construction tool and equipment thefts that are believed to be related and committed by the same suspect: Zachary Woodworth,” Tucker said. 

Those included break-ins last September to trucks parked at the Cookville Irving, where someone stole five chainsaws in the middle of the day belonging to Lucas Tree Experts, said the constable, noting the saws were in locked cases. 

Later that month, Dave Jollymore, who owns the tree trimming business, found a man “selling chainsaws on Facebook that matched his models Husqvarna 576XP, two 550XP, and a 545,” Tucker said. 

The saws all had his company’s name engraved on the side.  

“The chainsaws were later recovered from a male in Sackville who stated that he bought them from a Zachary Woodworth,” Tucker said. 

He apologized and told police he paid Woodworth $1,000 for the chainsaws. He also told investigators he’d bought equipment from Woodworth before “and knows he resides in the New Germany area with his father on a farm,” said the constable. 

Then on Jan. 6 at 3:47 a.m., the Bridgewater Police Service responded to a fire on the St. Phillips Street construction site for a new overpass near Michelin, Tucker said. 

“It was determined that work site was owned by Dexter Construction and that an Atco trailer was burned with equipment and tools in it,” said the investigator. 

“A Caterpillar excavator was moved to access a sea can with Milwaukee brand tools in it that were stolen including a Milwaukee half inch torque wrench and a Milwaukee M-18 paddle switch grinder.” 

Woodworth was working for Dexter Construction at the time, Tucker said. 

In a statement to the Bridgewater fire chief, Woodworth “admitted he was at the site of the fire at 9:30 p.m. just hours prior to the fire being reported by a Michelin worker at the plant on Logan Road at 3:47 a.m.,” said the constable. 

“Zachary Woodworth stated that he was on the construction site to show his friend the large Link-Belt crane that was there.” 

He told investigators there was a grey truck there that night as well. 

Bridgewater police interviewed Woodworth in March. 

He told them he’d done jail time for stealing about $300,000 worth of equipment in the past. 

“I can use heavy equipment; I grew up on a farm,” Woodworth said. 

He also told police he had a key for Caterpillar equipment. 

“My Cat key will start the very first ones made up until now,” Woodworth said. “It will open the doors, but the new ones need a code … Nothing I ran for Dexter’s was new enough to run a code.” 

But Woodworth also told police he didn’t return to the site after he showed his friend the big red crane the night before. 

“I have a history,” he said. 

Indeed, Woodworth has been convicted of 25 charges under the criminal code, with sentencing dates ranging from October 2013 to November 2018.    

He told investigators it took him two years to get a job with Dexter Construction. “I’m not going to burn or steal from a job site that I worked enough to get on.” 

He told the Bridgewater Police Service’s Const. Alexander Sparrow that he had a history of taking large items, like excavators, not smaller items such as power tools or saws. 

“I didn’t say any power tools or saws were stolen,” Sparrow responded.  

Sparrow asked Woodworth if he was willing to take a lie detector test. 

Woodworth said he would, but then “mutters to himself that he will not take the polygraph” once Sparrow left the interview room, according to the recording device. 

“The investigation into this arson and theft of Milwaukee tools remains open with the Bridgewater Police Service,” Tucker said in his warrant application. 

In a recent interview, Bridgewater’s Deputy Chief Danny MacPhee confirmed that case is still in the works. 

“We have an active investigation on that,” MacPhee said Tuesday. “But our (information to obtain a warrant) is actually sealed because of our open investigation, because we don’t want to jeopardize what we’re doing with him as a suspect. So, I can’t speak to that at this point.” 

Investigators couldn’t determine the cause of the fire, MacPhee said, noting police haven’t laid any charges related to the Jan. 6 blaze.  

“Any time that we have a link in criminality to a scene because there were thefts as well, we would rule out arson first, and then continue our investigation. So, at this time we’re still in the process of ruling out the arson.” 

Mounties also wanted their warrant to search for tools stolen at another construction site.   

An employee of Gary Parker Excavating called Lunenburg County RCMP on April 25 after someone moved a Caterpillar loader blocking a sea can off Nathan Cirillo Road to steal eight new red Milwaukee battery-powered tools, a charging station, a Stihl 420 concrete saw and a Dewalt grease gun with distinctive orange paint marking the bottom. 

“The sea can also used a Caterpillar branded lock on it that took the same key as the loader,” Tucker said. 

Then on May 16, the same excavating outfit was robbed again. 

“Once again a Caterpillar loader was parked in front of the sea can with tools in it … was moved and a lock was cut to open the sea can,” Tucker said. “A brand new Stihl TS 420 concrete saw that was bought to replace the last one … was stolen and a replacement for the Dewalt grease gun was stolen again.” 

Less than two weeks later, Trevor Campbell, a supervisor with Gary Parker Excavating, contacted investigators to say the company had retrieved some of their stolen gear from Woodworth, who had once worked for them before he was fired in April for repeated safety issues. 

His former supervisor, Faron Henshaw, had noticed Woodworth was selling their distinctly marked battery-powered grease gun on Facebook. 

“Faron sent the ad for this and another ad for the stolen Stihl TS 420 saw to some friends who messaged Zachary and arranged a meeting to buy the saw,” Tucker said. “When Zachary met with the individuals, he was confronted about stealing the saw. Zachary became angry and freaked out and left the saw on the ground and drove away.” 

An anonymous source told police Woodworth was selling Dewalt tools in mid-May. “Zach Woodworth has a garage full of stolen property,” the source told investigators.  

Tucker checked out Woodworth’s family home on a 78-hectare property on Northfield Road before applying for his search warrant. 

“I believe that Zachary Woodworth has … significantly used technology to carry out the offences mentioned on the warrant face given that he was caught flying a drone that is run by a cellular device and that he used Facebook Marketplace to sell the stolen property,” said the constable.  

He wanted to search the property for stolen tools, drones, and seize Woodworth’s mobile phone as it might provide more clues in the case. “I know there will be a great deal of evidence afforded to these offences by examination of not only the GPS data but the telecommunications and internet usage of the phone as well,” said Tucker, an RCMP officer since July of 2014. 

During their June 22 search, Mounties seized 16 items, including three flying drones, heavy equipment master keys, a mobile phone, computer gear, and power tools, including a DeWalt grease gun spray-painted orange.  

Mounties said a 29-year-old Watford man is facing three charges of theft under $5,000 for the string of construction site heists. They won’t identify him until he’s officially arraigned Oct. 12 in Bridgewater provincial court.  

There is no specific charge for using a drone to scope out a crime, said Cpl. Chris Marshall, who speaks for the RCMP. 

“But if the drones can provide evidence related to the prosecution, or they are property used in the commission of an offence, then they can be seized as part of the investigation,” Marshall said Wednesday.  

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