Boys & Girls Club speaks out after AC unit theft
BAY COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) – Boys and Girls Clubs of Bay County is reacting after an arrest was made following AC unit thefts.
In 2018, the C.C. and Vivian Moore Boys and Girls Clubhouse was damaged during Hurricane Michael. Since then, staff started to remodel and use it as storage.
But on Jan. 30th, Boys and Girls Clubs of Bay County CEO Hank Hill noticed someone had been tampering with the 4 AC units behind the building. The following night, somebody took parts and metals from the unit.
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Hill notified the Panama City Police Department, who set up surveillance at the scene. On February 3rd, somebody returned to the site but fled the scene, leaving evidence behind. Police believe it was the same person.
'Unfortunately… the person responsible for doing this to the club, you know, they didn't really think about the underlying causes and effects that this would have on the Boys and Girls Club, of Bay County,' Hill said.
Police arrested 46-year-old Nicholas Bevilaque on 9 charges, including burglary, criminal mischief, dealing in stolen property, and grand theft. Police believe he took copper metal from the units and sold it to a recycling company.
While the club has no timeline on when the building will reopen, they said this theft will set them back in their renovations.
'…it will divert resources that we could have used in serving kids and, you know, hiring staff or our mentors, even program supplies that go directly to service kids. You know, we're going to have to go back and relook at what the cost is to replace these,' Hill said.
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Hill said this kind of situation highlights the significance of having organizations like them in the community.
'This certainly underlines the importance of raising good people in our community, you know, so that when they do grow up, they're good members of society, productive and that they're giving back instead of, you know, hurting organizations like ours,' Hill said.
News13 wanted to find out if metal theft is a problem in the area. We reached out to PCPD and Bay County Sheriff's Office, who both said they were unavailable to comment on the story. We also reached out to two large scrap metal businesses in town, who declined to comment.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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