And Then There Were None: Homeowner Suffers Singular Copper Crime Wave

It must have been a nearly helpless feeling for a Tosa resident who had already been the target of three property crimes just since June 14. He knew he was almost certain to be hit again.

On June 19, a Sunday, he had called police to report that some time over the weekend, someone had stolen two copper downspouts, one off his garage and the other off his house in the 2400 block of North 64th Street. He said another downspout had been stolen the previous Tuesday and he was afraid that his two remaining downspouts would be stolen as well. The downspouts are worth an estimated $500 each.

Sure enough, on June 22, a Wednesday, he called again to report the loss of another downspout, making four altogether, with only one remaining on the house. He asked police to please add extra patrols to his neighborhood. The police agreed, but it did no good.

At 2:05 a.m. Saturday, a police officer noticed that the final remaining copper downspout had been stolen during his shift. The officer had been told in roll call Friday that all the other downspouts had been stolen from the house in three previous incidents.

He had checked the house and saw the downspout in place at 11 p.m. Friday. Three hours later he was at the home, informing the owner it was gone.

These were not fancy new downspouts that the owner had installed – it appeared they were original to the the older home, and will no doubt have to be be replaced with aluminum.

The soaring price of copper has prompted thieves to steal the metal anywhere they can find it, including copper plumbing and wiring from vacant buildings and construction sites. Homeowners who have any outside copper fittings should beware.