Thieves attracted to metals

[River Rat]

This report was featured in our local paper...somewhat different in the headlines than on the WWW.
Front page has HOT METAL -Thieves will take copper tubing, sprinkler heads, aluminum siding - even the kitchen sink. in big bold print. The pictures included in the paper and not with the internet news, has WHEELS - aluminum, such as in these aluminum wheels can bring about 50 cents per pound, depending on grade. HOT ITEM - Copper wire and tubing is the hot item, forcing scrap metal buyers to keep recise records of who they purchase from to avoid running afoul of the law. The price of copper is over $3 per pound, and theft of the material has reach epidemic proportions in the area.

By Don Ellzey

Wednesday, June 18, 2008 9:18 AM CDT



Theft reports Monday included 669 sprinkler heads from a farmer’s field, aluminum stolen from the side of a mobile home, copper tubing stolen from a medical building under construction and a large stainless steel sink from a Ponchatoula business.

“It just never ends,” said Sgt. Mark Apperson, shaking his head as he scanned the reports that morning at the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office substation in Hammond.

The bright side was that arrests were made for the theft of items containing copper from Little River United Pentecostal Church, 11005 Hwy 442, Tickfaw and the Seventh Day Adventist Church, 24153 Hwy 190 East, Hammond.

“We get warrants and make arrests, but they just keep coming,” Chief Deputy Dennis Pevey said.

The object of the thefts, he said, is metal — copper, aluminum, brass and now scrap iron.

Copper is selling for over $3 per pound, possibly over $3.50 per pound. Aluminum goes for 35 cents to 45 cents per pound, depending on the grade. Red brass brings $1.70 per pound and scrap metal brings whatever the market is offering at the time.

The aluminum siding was unscrewed and stolen from the side of a mobile home on Johnson Lane in Natalbany. Apperson said aluminum was used on older manufactured homes.

No arrests have been made for the aluminum theft, and the case is still under investigation.

The sprinkler nozzles, made of brass, were stolen from a farmer’s field in the Tickfaw community. Apperson said Roger Parker, 39, of 55511 Jacobson Lane, Tickfaw, was arrested and booked for alleged theft of the nozzles.

“It’s all profit,” Apperson said. “They have no overhead except the gas, and they possibly steal that.”

The medical facility off the Interstate 12 service road near Hammond was probably the biggest hit, Pevey said. The break-in was discovered June 7. The thieves were after copper pipe. They cut a pipe in which the water was on, flooding the structure.

The copper tubing in the building was stolen. That included medical gas copper tubing for disbursing oxygen to patients. It’s a special tubing and very expensive to replace. Pevey said the replacement cost would probably be about $25,000.

No wiring was taken because apparently the thieves got what they wanted with the tubing, he said.

But the water extensively damaged the sheet rock and other materials, making for an expensive repair job.

The building owners have since hired security guards, he said.

The break-in is still under investigation, Pevey said.

Sgt. Alex Richardson, who is handling the church thefts, said air conditioning units at the churches were stolen for their copper tubing and aluminum. A keyboard, stereo and pantry items were also taken from the Pentecostal church.

The Hammond Police Departmnt contacted Richardson and Detective Raymond Foster Jr. about suspects possibly involved with the thefts. Derrick Allison, 21, Shane Crawford, 18, and Bronze Williams, 18, all of Independence, were the allegedly perpetrators. Williams allegedly said he and Allison were responsible for the thefts at the Seventh Day Adventist Church. He said they wanted the copper.

Also reportedly, he said he and Roy Gross, along with a juvenile, were responsible for the thefts at the Pentecostal church. He allegedly said he and Allison stole a .22 caliber handgun, two .44 caliber handguns and five laptop computers from a residence on East Club Deluxe Road.




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[scrounger d detector collector]

thanx rr.whatever aint nailed down it seems.and an about face.steal copper pipes and wire.leave the tv, stereo and even the computer.not worth enuf

 

[River Rat]

Continuing story in local paper...

On guard against 'hot' metal

by Don Ellzey

Thursday, June 19, 2008 10:15 AM CDT

The rampant thefts of certain metals, particularly copper, has area metal buyers taking extraordinary steps to protect themselves from becoming victims of the very thieves who are stealing the materials.

Metal buyers must follow specific guidelines set in state law when buying copper and other metals. They must get a photograph, address and other identifying information of the seller. The personal information makes it easier for law enforcement to identify and locate the individuals who sell stolen metal, which usually leads to an eventual arrest.

Richard Forrest and his brother, Brannon Forrest, manage Florida Parishes Industries, Inc., off U.S. 190 west of Hammond for their mother, Celia Smith, president. Richard Forrest says the company has gone to extra lengths to remain in compliance with the law.

First, they bought a computer system that reads all pertinent information from a driver's license, including the photo. The system also records a fingerprint of the seller. The computer report also includes a picture and description of the metal being sold. The information is stored and readily available when needed.

With the click of a button, weekly receipts of all metal purchases are sent to the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office, where personnel can check the receipts against reports of stolen metals.

“We feel this system has kept a lot of undesirables out of here, and it makes life much simpler for us,” Forrest said. “They (metal thieves) know we're watching closely.”

Catalytic converters are another “hot” item because they contain expensive platinum and rhodium, he said. But removing a converter from a vehicle involves a little too much work for most metal thieves. Stripping copper wire and cutting copper tubing is much easier and is almost as lucrative.

“A hundred pounds of copper can bring $300 or more. That's pretty easy money,” Forrest said.

Aluminum is not nearly as valuable as copper, he said, plus it is lighter. Brass and bronze can bring a fairly good price, but not as much is brought in.

“We buy four thousand to five thousand pounds of copper a day, easy,” Forrest said. “Brass, maybe a thousand pounds. We also buy a lot of aluminum.”

How does it feel to be caught between trying to abide by strict legal reporting requirements and dealing with some persons who are less than ethical?

“It's made us better,” Forrest said of the regulations. “It puts us all (metal dealers) on the same footing.”

He and his family are in business to be legitimate, Forrest said, and they plan to keep it that way. But the increased thefts have increased law enforcement activity at his place of business and probably that of other metal dealers.

“I've never seen police as much as I have the past three years,” Forrest said.

In his opinion, 90 percent of the metal thefts are drug related.

Asked if a person can make a decent living collecting and selling metals legitimately, Forrest said they definitely can. Metal vendors who bring in an old vehicle can get $200 to $400, depending on the weight.

“Bring in a couple of old cars a day, and you're looking at some money,” he said.

The vehicles are crushed at the salvage yard and are shipped out for processing.

The copper metal theft problem exploded about two years ago, Forrest said.

He does not see the price of metal coming down anytime soon. The demand overseas in developing nations such as China, India, Russia and North Korea is tremendous.

“There's a worldwide metal shortage,” he said. “And as long as the U.S. dollar is weak, there will be a demand for metal.”

Florida Parishes Industries has been in business for 35 years and employs about 35 workers, he said. Forrest said the salvage yard averages 325 customers per day.

“Sometimes they're lined up to the highway,” he said.

 

[TJ2662]

Sadly there's nothing new here..... The prices are just higher, so the media has taken notice, I hate thieves, but there have thieves long before the prices where up... and there will still be thieves if heaven forbid the prices go down.

For example if 6 years ago someone drove off w/ $25 in gas, heck they were thieves..... nowadays if they drove off w/ $25 in gas, they were probably in a hurry & forgot to pay... sigh...