New Jersey

Thief Steals 10 Chain Saws from South Jersey Chain Saw Artist

Brian "Ackmonster" Ackley, the South Jersey "chain saw artist" who recently used his skills to help his fellow New Jersey residents save trees downed in storms, isn’t too concerned with the person who stole his 10 chain saws sometime late last week – he just wants his livelihood back.

"That’s everything that I had," Ackley, 47, who’s been doing chainsaw carvings for 15 years, told NBC10. "I’m about to go out on my annual state and county fair carving tour, which takes me up and down the East Coast. I’m about to embark on that next week, and they took all of my stuff enabling me to do that."

Ackley said he went into his shop, on West Deerfield Road near Center Road in Bridgeton, Friday morning and found that someone had taken a sledgehammer to his lock, smashing it. All 10 of his chain saws – which he said are valued at about $6,000 to $7,000 – were gone.

"They were very direct in what they wanted. They left behind two weed whackers and a blower, but they took every chain saw that I had," Ackley, a father of five adult children, said. Ackley later told NBC10 he heard that police made at least one arrest in connection to the theft. Police have not yet confirmed this however. 

Earlier this month, Ackley was interviewed on NBC10 when he was helping to preserve a homeowner’s tree downed by severe storms that left widespread damage in South Jersey.

Ackley said Thursday night, he was up until about 11:30 p.m. watching the news, and then woke up about 6:30 a.m. He lives next door to the shop, he said, so he believes the break-in happened in the seven-hour window he was sleeping.

He said he’s surprised someone would so brazenly come to his shop, in the heart of a rural area, and steal his belongings.

"We’re an agricultural community. Everybody minds their own business," Ackley said. "It’s an extremely low-crime area, but it’s getting scarier."

He said he doesn’t have surveillance cameras, and he found very little evidence that might reveal who’s responsible for the burglary, but he filed a report with the New Jersey State Police in Bridgeton.

"My shop is surrounded by sawdust, so that leaves no tracks whatsoever," he said.

For now, a friend has started a GoFundMe account to help Ackley get new equipment before he heads out on his state and county fair tour next week. So far he's received two chainsaws on credit from a local farm store as well as donations from community members. Ackley said he’s been overwhelmed by the amount of support he’s gotten so far on the GoFundMe page. He said he isn’t as concerned with retribution for the person who stole the chainsaws than he is with being able to make his art again as soon as possible.

"Stealing my carvings is one thing," he said. "But stealing my ability to make more, that’s a little dastardly."

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