Friday, June 29, 2007

Cedar Hill thieves beat the heat by stealing eight four-ton air conditioners

By Loyd Brumfield of Cedar Hill TODAY

Summer is a trying time in North Texas, and people will go to great lengths to stay cool. And some go too far.

Unknown suspects took eight four-ton air conditioning units from a construction site of a new gated community in Cedar Hill sometime between June 9-11.

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Air-conditioner theft is a growing problem not just locally but in hot spots all around the country, and although most units are taken so they can be stripped of their copper parts, many are simply stolen from one construction site and moved to another, resold as new to the public, or simply put in use by the thieves.

“It’s hot out there,” said Jim Harrison, build manager for Signate Custom Homes, a Cedar Hill-based company that was victimized by the thefts.

The air conditioners were valued at $13,675, Cedar Hill police reported.

None of the homes were occupied, and it’s a common tactic to seek out construction sites before people move into their new buildings.

“Once the homeowners are there, it’s usually safe,” Harrison said.

At this development, condenser units in attics were left intact.

Video cameras at the site can record who enters or leaves the development but not what happens at each homesite. Cameras did capture an unfamiliar white van leaving at about 11 a.m. June 9, police reported.

Most thieves look at spec houses and vacant properties when targeting copper-rich areas. Harrison said he thinks these units were taken to replace older units somewhere else.

Cedar Hill Police Lt. Steve Lafferty says dealing with air conditioner and copper theft is a “never-ending battle.”

“Builders have developed a protocol where they install these items at the last minute before people move in,” Lafferty said. “But in a lot of cases, if they want it, they are going to get it.”

Copper has a high resale value and is 100 percent recyclable, which makes it an attractive target. Air-conditioner condensing coils, propane tanks used to fuel forklifts, phone cables and wiring inside light poles and utility poles have been taken in Dallas County and other parts of the Metroplex.

The Dallas Police Department has its own metal theft division, and some cities have proposed ordinances to put tighter regulations on the resale of copper and other precious metals and call for metal dealers to document people who try to sell them copper.

Thieves have targeted appliances inside new construction, such as dishwashers and ranges and have stripped these homes of whatever wiring they can grab, but incidents like that are rare, Lafferty said.

“But as soon as you put your copper tubing in on your new air conditioner, you need to cover it with dirt or something,” he said, adding that construction workers have come to the police department after installing the units one day and finding them gone the next.

Cedar Hill investigators worked with TXU Energy on a case within the past year and recovered about $60,000 in stolen copper materials, Lafferty said.

But in most cases, getting stolen copper back is a difficult and rare accomplishment, he said.

“In the TXU case, they were taking the copper, putting it in 4- or 5-foot-long strands and reselling the copper,” Lafferty said.

TXU’s wiring had engraved serial numbers on it that helped police recover the materials.

“Sometimes we can trace where it was sold, but recovery of stolen property is almost impossible,” Lafferty said. “We need a 14-day window of opportunity to find out where it was taken, or it’s gone.”

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