Teen shocked trying to steal copper, police say

Here’s a hint if you’re planning to rip off copper wiring: make sure the power is off.

An Acworth teenager was in stable condition at Grady Memorial Hospital on Friday with severe burns to his hands and arms. Police said he was burned after he tried to remove components from an electrical panel in a vacant building.

Security lights to the building were still on. But the lights did not deter the youths who broke into the building late Thursday.

The 17-year-old received an electrical shock when he tried to remove the components, said Captain Wayne Dennard, Acworth police spokesman. The teen’s cohorts took off.

A passerby called 911 after seeing smoke coming from the building.

The building, near downtown Acworth, is the former Day’s Chevrolet and is slated for redevelopment, Dennard said.

Police did not release the name of the teenager. Detectives planned to interview him Friday to get a lead on the others, he said. Charges against the teen are pending.

“Copper theft is a growing trend that law enforcement has seen in the last few years,” Dennard said.

Copper is so hot that it can command up to $3 per pound in metro Atlanta.

Awareness of the problem has led metro Atlanta recyclers to ask for photo identification from people who are bringing in the metal, said Officer James Polite, a spokesman for the Atlanta Police Department.

If a flag is raised — someone bringing in a lot of poundage or metal that looks fairly new — the recyclers will alert law enforcement, Polite said.

Last year, law enforcement officers created the Metro Atlanta Copper Task Force to cool down the trend.

Led by the Atlanta Police Department, the task force is made up of officers from Cobb and DeKalb counties, and East Point and Riverdale. Recyclers in metro Atlanta, the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office, and Georgia Power, among other businesses, are also members of the task force.