Exclusive: North Babylon residents say unknown man with metal detector, shovel dug up parts of their lawn
Frustrated residents in North Babylon reached out to News 12 after they say a man with a metal detector and shovel dug up parts of their lawn.
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Frustrated residents in North Babylon reached out to News 12 after they say a man with a metal detector and shovel dug up parts of their lawn.
Alexandra Hernandez says it happened last Wednesday at her home on Deer Lake Drive.
"I received a call from my tenant,” she said. "He was telling me that there was a man digging on my property."
A neighbor's Ring camera caught the moment when the tenant asked the man why he was digging.
"I've just got to shoot this monument here and then I'll cover it up,” said the man who was digging.
The tenant then questioned what the man meant by a monument.
The man replied with, "Yeah, you've got a monument here."
"A shock to me. I was like, 'A monument on my property?' I'm thinking something huge," said Hernandez.
After talking with her neighbors, she found out she wasn't alone. Laura Skiba, who lives right next door, caught video of the man first digging on her lawn before moving across the street to Hernandez’s property.
"I thought maybe it was maybe a utility company but I did contact SCWA, National Grid, PSEG, none of them had any work going on at my address nor in this area,” said Skiba.
Skiba also checked with the Town of Babylon Supervisor Rich Schaffer. It wasn't one of the town’s crews either.
"My first fear was hitting a gas line,” said Skiba. “The second concern was I have an irrigation system."
As neighbors wait to learn the identity of this mystery man with the metal detector and shovel digging up their lawns in North Babylon, they hope “No Trespassing” signs will send him a message.
"Why are you coming here and destroying our property,” said Hernandez. "I cannot even believe that someone had the nerve to come with a metal detector and a shovel and pretend he's a utility worker and going into people's property."
Suffolk police confirmed a homeowner reported a man in a reflective vest and with a metal detector on the property that said they were with a utility company. The incident is still under investigation.
