Keep an eye on your copper.

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bphgravity

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It looks like the copper stealing is still pretty bad in this area...

PORT CHARLOTTE -- A couple found at a new home under construction in Port Charlotte Thursday were reportedly looking for copper wire, according to authorities.

At about 8:15 p.m., a man called the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office and reported a suspicious vehicle parked behind his father-in-law's new home that was being built on Bowman Terrace. He said he checked the home often due to previous thefts.

The man said he saw someone inside the home through a bedroom window. He also saw a GMC sport utility vehicle behind the home and a woman nearby. The woman said her SUV had overheated and she was trying to get water.

A deputy found James Paul Mace, 34 and Traci Mace, 26, both of 224 Waterway Circle, at the home. Inside the SUV were a tool box, a crow bar and a pipe cutter.

The deputy found the heavy copper-wire cables coming from the pole to the house had been cut. The value of the copper wire was approximately $800, authorities said.

The Maces were both charged with burglary to a dwelling and taken to the Charlotte County Jail, where they are being held on $5,000 bond each.

Skyrocketing prices for copper have caused a recent rash of thefts from homes under construction. Over the holiday weekend, burglars broke into a construction trailer at the new Tern Bay housing and golf project, 15401 Burnt Store Road, south of Punta Gorda. Nearly 200 rolls of copper wire and copper fittings valued at $36,596 where stolen.

On Thursday, $5,146 in copper tubing and wire were reported stolen from a construction site at Hacienda Del Mar condominium in Placida.

A trailer owned by N & M Cooling & Heating was broken into, and copper items were stolen.

CCSO spokesman Bob Carpenter said the Sheriff's Office is looking into the possibility the couple may have been involved in other recent copper thefts and more charges are possible.

Howard Burnette, manager of Allied Recycling, said he's been trying to help the CCSO in their investigation and looks for people bringing in suspected stolen copper.

"We look for things that seem strange," Burnette said. "Two-inch brass fittings stick out like a sore thumb."

Burnette said most scrap is just what it sounds like -- scraps.

"You get spent bullet shells and wire," he said Friday. "When you start seeing brand-new stuff, it kinda tips you off."

Burnette said customers can scrap their copper for $1.35 at his place and for about $2 a pound further north around Tampa. He turns around and sells it for about $3.35. Nationally, some retail stores sell copper for up to $7 a pound, according to www.recycle.net.

Copper prices started to climb about two months ago, which Burnette believes is due to the increase in ethanol use -- a fuel made from a wide variety of crops, particularly corn -- which is produced in copper vats.
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The last couple of months I've had numerous calls from scrappers from all over looking for scrap copper and being very persistant (click), I new I shouldn't have put my name in the yellow pages, at least I didn't put my address in there, I should have stuck with the word of mouth advertising. It was working ok,:D
 
They just caught 3 guys in Maine breaking into a scrapyard and loading up copper. Oxy makes people do stupid things.
 
It cost over a $100 just to fill up the tank on a service van. Soon people will be stealing service trucks just to get the copper and the gas.
 
some of them are real dumb too!

some of them are real dumb too!

Man found electrocuted Friday at Greenville power substation
Authorities believe victim may have been there to steal copper

Published: Saturday, July 8, 2006 - 6:00 am



By Claire Anderson and E. Richard Walton
STAFF WRITERS
canderson@greenvillenews.com


A man was found dead in the Duke Power substation on West Washington Street on Friday morning.

The man's identity was being withheld pending notification of his relatives, according to Ken Coppins, a Greenville County deputy coroner.

The man died from "high-voltage electrocution," Coppins said.

A Duke Power employee found the man and called authorities at 10:30 a.m., said Michael Hildebrand, a Sheriff's Office spokesman.



Hildebrand said it appeared the man was trying to steal copper from the substation.

The death appears to be accidental, he said.
 
More copper stolen from Greenville High facility
Months of repeated thefts delaying school's construction, foreman says

Published: Friday, July 7, 2006 - 6:00 am



By Claire Anderson
STAFF WRITER
canderson@greenvillenews.com


Copper for construction at Greenville High School has been stolen seven times from the site in the past 14 months, delaying work, site foreman Richard Byrd said.

"We've put locks on our trailers, but they've gotten high-tech. They use blowtorches and cut through our locks," Byrd said.

Byrd discovered the latest theft Wednesday. He said the thief used a blowtorch to cut the lock off a trailer and stole around $2,000 of copper.

Byrd said the theft would likely set them back two weeks.


Sometimes the thief will steal the installed copper from inside the building, which costs more money and twice as long to replace as copper that hasn't been used, Byrd said.

He said a single theft has cost him as much as $9,000. Byrd said the construction company, W.B. Guimarin, is responsible for replacing the copper and for the lost man-hours. Byrd said he'd guess the company has lost around $20,000.

Greenville Police Lt. Mike Gambrell said the department has seen an increase in copper piping and wire thefts in recent months.

Gambrell said the department has had some success tracking down copper thieves, but preventing the crime is not easy.

"It goes back to the old saying that criminals are always looking for an opportunity," he said. "Whether it's an existing house or business or a facility under construction, they'll burglarize, take the copper, and sell it for monetary gain."

Byrd said he's gone so far as to spray-paint some of the copper blue so he'd recognize it if a thief tried to pawn it.

According to Byrd, copper theft can be lucrative; pawnshops will pay around $3 a pound.

Unfortunately, Byrd says there is little he can do to protect himself because hiring a security guard is too expensive.

Police increase the frequency of their patrols any time there are multiple offenses in the same area, Gambrell said.

Still, Byrd said he doesn't know how much the authorities can do. "All they can tell us is they'll try to find it (the copper).
 
transported some aluminum cans to the local recycling center a couple of weeks ago....I had about 30 dollars worth....I had to show proof of identification and give a local address and phone number.....apparently if you sell more than 25 dollars worth of copper or aluminum....this is now required...I asked why....should someone complain, I will be contacted by the local authorities and must submit proof as to where and when the copper/aluminum was acquired! If it is less than 25 dollars, no problems...guess you could make several trips a day and would have no worries...I guess the local authorities are trying to do something.....I have not heard of our local pawn shop buying copper/aluminum....I know they buy gold and silver....Maybe johnny is stealing copper from jerry and selling it to contractor jason for 10 cents on the dollar? wildman
 
Anti theft Romex from Southwire

Anti theft Romex from Southwire

Category: Wire & Cable
Tear-resistant Romex SIMpull nonmetallic Type NM-B cable features a jacket system that reduces friction, eliminates greasy residue, and cuts the amount of force required to pull the cable through wooden joists and rafters and around corners. The cable?s design allows it to strip faster and reduces burn-through when it?s pulled across previously installed cables. It meets all the requirements of the UL 719 Nonmetallic-Sheathed Cables standard. New Anti-Theft Cable in sizes over #8 now Lo-Jack Equipped. New Anti-Theft Cable in sizes under #8 supplied with laser imprinted serial numbers every 2 feet.
Southwire
 
Recently, at a housing project here in Riverdale NJ, a contractor had just laid in his feeders for the service to the complex on a friday. By monday morning all feeders and copper wire were gone. Just goes to show you that when you lay in your feeders - get them powered up as soon as possible. At least that way you might catch the thieves like at the Greenville power substation.

Hildebrand said it appeared the man was trying to steal copper from the substation. The death appears to be accidental, he said.
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Just curious, how can someone consider this an accident when the copper thief is stealing the copper (live no less) ? I don't wish harm on anyone so please don't misinterpret what I'm saying, but as far as I'm concerned this guy had a death wish.
 
An update on the man killed in Greenville. He was 50 years old, so he was old enough to know better. I don't want any one to die, but how dumb, or desperate can someone be? Most people that I know, that aren't involved in electrical, are afraid to even reset their breaker! And I must admit, sometimes I'm afraid to reset one also, since I don't know what someone else may have done before I got there.
 
[SIZE=+2][SIZE=+2]Community comes together to fight copper theft
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[SIZE=-1]06:08 PM CDT on Wednesday, June 28, 2006

[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]By Jason Whitely / 11 News[/SIZE]
video_icon.gif
Click to watch video

Thieves after copper wire in air conditioning units have hit more churches. They are the latest in dozens of burglaries this year.
M_IMAGE.10c152b4e38.93.88.fa.d0.7a04feb.jpg
KHOU-TV
Pastors said police have investigated more than 60 air conditioner thefts in this area over the last year.

Some of the victims said they’ve had enough and are joining together to take action to stop the copper thieves.
Victoria Wade takes security seriously. But when she arrived at her funeral home Wednesday she realized she too had finally become a victim.
“They literally put me out of business today,” she said.
The thermostat was almost up to 90.
Burglars had cut through a padlock and dismantled her caged air conditioners, taking copper and aluminum they could sell for scrap.
“Yeah, I’m in Fifth Ward. I know where I am,” Wade said. “But this is happening other places too, and I’m not going to run. I’m still going to be the same person that I was. I’m still going to help the community. They’re just going to set me back from doing work in my chapel, but that’s it.”
Scrap metal thieves are setting quite a few back in northeast Houston.
Copper is selling for more than $3 a pound now, which is the highest anyone can remember. Frustration is going up just as fast.
Pastors said police have investigated more than 60 air conditioner thefts in this area over the last year.
Neighbors of Sweet Home Missionary Baptist Church need to unite.
“We want to meet with the pastors and business people in the community to talk about this,” said Pastor Edward Collins, Sweet Home Missionary Baptist Church. “Because after 12 o’clock at night, I don’t believe we have any protection. You see the police in the daytime give traffic tickets. But at night you don’t see them at all.”
Victoria Wade and her husband thought an iron cage around the air conditioner units would be a good deterrent.
“Beyond that, I’m not sure. I might have to call Fort Knox and ask them what they’re doing there,” he said.
They are almost out of ideas and patience isn’t far behind.
Pastor Collins planned a community meeting after the Fourth of July weekend to talk about all of the air conditioner thefts.
Victoria Wade already had contractors out to give her bids on replacing the air conditioner units and upgraded security, which is an added expense she never thought she would have to pay.
 
77401 said:
Category: Wire & Cable
Tear-resistant Romex SIMpull nonmetallic Type NM-B cable features a jacket system that reduces friction, eliminates greasy residue, and cuts the amount of force required to pull the cable through wooden joists and rafters and around corners. The cable?s design allows it to strip faster and reduces burn-through when it?s pulled across previously installed cables. It meets all the requirements of the UL 719 Nonmetallic-Sheathed Cables standard. New Anti-Theft Cable in sizes over #8 now Lo-Jack Equipped. New Anti-Theft Cable in sizes under #8 supplied with laser imprinted serial numbers every 2 feet.
Southwire
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Lo-Jack equipped copper cable? That's a good one one (I hope). Although I wouldn't be that suprised considering how much it costs.
Copper prices have come down around here in the past week. 250' of 12/2 NMB was $88 on Friday.
I like the new SIM-pull jacket, although it seems a little harder to use my romex stripper. The tool wants to slide off the side of the cable when I pull.
Anyone else noticed that?
steve
 
I was spoiled by the SIMPULL for a while, and then they started buying different stuff.

At first I grumbled about the greasiness, but got used to it. Now I miss it greatly. It's good stuff.
 
Man electrocuted while allegedly tampering with switchbox Copper

Man electrocuted while allegedly tampering with switchbox Copper

AURORA (AP) - A man who may have been trying to steal some copper wiring is dead, after allegedly tampering with a high-voltage ground switchbox in Aurora.

The ground!!! he got roasted, One man tried to steal service entrance copper in Illinois and his shadow is on the brick building, he survived.
 
Recently, in a local paper, part of a new water tower (under construction) was stolen along with a trailer it was sitting on.

The owner of a local scrap company was caught with the trailer and cut up pieces of the tower on his property.

Esitmated loss was about $50,000.

Steve
 
I think it's time that we include an installed-material-belongs-to-the-customer clause in our contracts.
 
LarryFine said:
I think it's time that we include an installed-material-belongs-to-the-customer clause in our contracts.
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I've been doing that for a couple of years now. I'm thinking about changing it to customer ownership when delivered to the job-site. I have a storage container on a job with $70,000 worth of wire purchased a year ago (customer paid for it, but it's in my trailer). The replacement cost for this wire is over $140,000. If it gets stolen, we will have a battle as to who is buying the replacement wire.
 
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