USMC veteran’s sports equipment stolen from storage in Colorado Springs
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- A former U.S. Marine is hoping people can be on the lookout for some of his equipment, which was stolen out of CubeSmart Self Storage off Garden of the Gods this past month.
"All of my athletic equipment is gone, mountain bikes, snowboard, helmets, bindings, boots, everything. High value about $10,000 dollars," said Sgt. Howard Hampton Jr., who served in the US Marine Corps for nine years.
Most of the stolen items were donated from the nonprofit organization Team Semper Fi, including two bikes, a snowboard with bindings, and multiple helmets.
"Everything I had stolen was a donation to me from the team, so it's not like they're stealing anything from my finances. They're actually stealing from veterans, from an organization that bends over backwards to help veterans," Hampton said.
Sgt. Hampton joined Team Semper Fi in 2014 after serving in the Marine Corps. He served with 2-1 in Fallujah, Iraq in 2014.
"For me throughout the years, I've struggled with a lot of stuff coming back from Iraq. I did a pretty big deployment and that left me with some hard things to work through," Hampton said.
He does athletics not only for himself and as an outlet for mental health, but also for his friends who are no longer here after their service.
"These are things that help me with my mental state, not just staying physically fit but being active in the community," he said.
Through his years of athletic training and attending various team
events, he was awarded a red Transition bike (serial number TBC4314172), a Burton snowboard, and a red/white/blue Zaskar bike, all of which he says were stolen.
