Lena Wise, Depot AC units recently hit
Copper is being stolen in Crawford.
There have been three copper thefts in the city since July, bringing back a problem Stephen Bray, a local independent insurance agent, hasn’t seen in 12 years.
“It was really, really bad,” Bray said. “We were having thousands and thousands of dollar losses monthly. I’ve been writing business in Oglethorpe for quite a while, and this is the first loss I’ve had for copper theft in the county.”
The Lena Wise Community Center had to have its air conditioning units repaired due to copper theft.
On July 15, Vicki Ussery, an educator at Athens Technical College and teacher for the high school equivalency classes, noticed the air conditioning was broken in the building. The copper pipes attached to the unit had been pinched, which caused $2,800 in damage, Bray said.
“I hope that they can catch the person that’s been doing this,” Ussery said. “It costs a lot of money to get these things repaired.”
The Crawford Depot was targeted on Sept. 9, when the copper was removed from two AC units, resulting in $3,000 in damage.
While some of the costs of repairing the AC units are covered by insurance, Bray said a majority won’t be covered.
“You’re looking at large deductibles coming out of the community nonprofit organizations’ checkbook,” Bray said. “It’s costing the donations to the chamber, people that support the chamber, $2,500, or Lena Wise, $2,000.”
Residents have also been affected.
Investigator Adam Hunter with the Oglethorpe County Sheriff's Office said copper was stolen from a resident. He added the investigation is multifaceted, requiring contact with local scrap yards and other locations where scrap copper would be sold.
“We do have suspects, and we’re hoping to put this case to rest here pretty soon,” Hunter said.
High risk, little reward
The copper from AC units can be stolen with cutters and brute force, bending the copper until it breaks or begins to spray refrigerant. The price fetched from stolen copper, however, pales in comparison to the costs of HVAC repairs, as copper is valued at approximately $6.80 per pound based on copper futures on the COMEX benchmark for Sept. 21.
“The sad thing about it is that the copper that was stolen from the chamber, if somebody took it to one of the recycle plants, it was only about 12 foot of copper,” Bray said. “At the high price of copper, they would have probably gotten $12.”
There are physical dangers of cutting and removing copper from AC units as well, said Grayson Stark, general manager of Jordan Air.
“Refrigerant is obviously a big one,” he said.“That is a very dangerous substance. It’s toxic. It can burn you. It can cause all kinds of scarring. It can send you to the hospital very easily. Anybody who potentially has that in mind, I would highly suggest not to.”
Community consequences
Victims of copper theft face more issues than monetary loss. The lack of air conditioning after a theft can affect residents' health and lead to temporary closure for businesses.
Ussery said she had to bring in fans for her classroom. The AC was fixed the next day.
Stark described the lack of air conditioning for residents as potentially life-threatening, due to the high summer temperatures.
“For elderly or for infants, babies, that can be very, very dangerous,” Stark said. “Those are life, potentially hazardous conditions to be living in, and not every HVAC business is going to be able to get out to you, fix that, and get you going.”
Concealing copper
The copper piping of AC units is exposed and vulnerable to theft due to its design, but there are ways to become less of a target.
“A lot of times, people who are stealing copper or other metal, it’s a crime of opportunity, right?” Stark said. “They’re going to go to somebody that’s not surveyed. Not heavily trafficked.”
Stark said Jordan Air’s scrap metal is locked up to prevent thefts, but exposed pipes have less options. One solution is to cover units and make them less accessible.
“A simple outdoor light on that area is a big deterrent. Outdoor cameras are a big thing,” Stark said. “Obviously, that is not proactive, but if there is a very visible camera, and it’s a well lit area, that person is going to move on to a less populated, more low-visible area to do that.”
The Sheriff's Office recommends residents be vigilant while the investigation continues.
“The people inside of the town of Crawford need to protect each other, and if they see anything suspicious or unknown individuals walking, then they may need to to call the Sheriff's Office to report that,” Hunter said.