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Police Seek Thieves In $6,000 Youth Football Helmet Heist

PLANTATION (CBSMiami) – A youth football league is teaching its players a tough lesson. This is the second time they have fallen victim to crooks for the second time in little more than a year.

Cathy Watts, the commissioner of the Plantation Wildcats football program at the Plantation Athletic League told CBS 4 News that sometime over the weekend someone broke into an equipment building and stole dozens of football helmets worth thousands of dollars.

Watts says the thieves stacked buckets outside an equipment building, broke in through a window and made off with about 40 helmets, each worth more than $100.

"It's just sad because we're all volunteers and we all work really hard to raise money," Watts said. "The kids donate money for registration. They do fund-raising."

Watts says this is the second time the equipment room has been broken into since December 2011 and the league concession stand has been burglarized several times, too. The league put extra locks on the doors and bars on the windows. They are considering surveillance cameras as well.

Watts says the kids love playing football and it keeps them off the streets and out of trouble. With the league set to start up again in a few months, she's not sure where they'll find the money to replace the stolen helmets.

"For somebody just to break in and steal from children -- they're stealing from little kids," Watts told CBS 4. "Why would they do that? Why take something that goes to such a good cause?"

If you can help Plantation Police solve this crime, call Crime Stoppers at (954) 493-TIPS.

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