As if Georgia summer days weren't already hot enough, some criminals are doing their part to make things even steamier. They're breaking into air conditioning units with one goal: stealing the copper inside.
It's not a new crime. But it's one that doesn't show signs of stopping anytime soon. Vacant houses, churches, schools, businesses and apartment complexes have been recent targets in metro Atlanta. And only a handful of those responsible have gotten caught.
For about 30 minutes of work, often at night, criminals can pocket about $100 by selling the metal to recyclers, if they get a large enough unit. But once destroyed, that same unit could cost $3,000 to replace.
"The money item is the copper," Tom Mutz, service manager for Moncrief Heating and Air conditioning, told the AJC. "They strip it down and take off the outer metal casing and take out the metal coils and any line set they can get."
Replacing the units can require extensive work inside a home, too, depending on the age of the home and the amount of damage done during the theft, Mutz said. The bigger the air conditioning unit, the more copper inside for thieves, making commercial units popular targets, Mutz said. Vacant properties or foreclosed homes are also popular targets, as well as churches, according to metro Atlanta police.
City of Atlanta police officers have responded to 150 incidents involving copper thefts just in the month of June, according to crime statistics obtained by the AJC. The crimes have prompted the police department to reach out to church leaders to discuss ways of preventing further thefts, Carlos Campos, spokesman for Atlanta police, said.
"Churches, particularly the smaller ones, make for opportunistic targets because they are generally occupied only on Sundays and Wednesday evenings," Campos said.
The crimes have extended to the suburbs, too. Since May 1, Paulding County deputies have responded to 24 cases of air conditioning units being damaged or having parts stolen, Sgt. Brandon Gurley told the AJC.
Some police agencies have been able to catch the suspected criminals in the act.
Last week, Cobb County police arrested a 26-year-old man accused of stealing the air conditioning unit from a vacant house on his own street, according to the arrest warrant. Bradley Andrew Pearson, of Kennesaw, was charged with theft by taking and criminal damage after he was captured on video surveillance and by a witness pushing the unit to the front of a house with a set of hand trucks, police said.
This week, three people involved with a ring suspected in at least 30 copper crimes were arrested by DeKalb County police, and additional arrests are expected. Dozens of air conditioning units worth $200,000 were stolen in the North Indian Creek Drive area alone, Mekka Parish with DeKalb police said.
And earlier this month, Hall County deputies arrested two people suspected of stealing copper from air conditioning units on top of an elementary school, resulting in $75,000 to $100,000 worth of damage.
But the problem may be too big for law enforcement to handle alone, some recyclers say.
"It takes an effort between the victims, the police, the recyclers and the DA’s office," said Joe Bulat with Schnitzer Southeast, an Atlanta-based recycling company. "Without one of those four entities, you can’t do anything with this crime.”
Bulat helped create a group several years ago that has grown into the Southeast Metal Task Force. Based in Atlanta, the group's 1,000 members include police departments and metal companies from around the metro area. The group's website lists alerts for metal thefts to keep police officers and recyclers on the lookout for criminals.
"I can't stand these criminals," Bulat said. "They give us all a bad name."
Those in the recycling business have stringent state laws to follow, such as requiring valid photo identification, which is then photocopied, said Rick Golsen, president of Atlanta Metal.
"Everybody that we purchase from signs an affidavit," said Golsen, who said recyclers must pay close attention to what is being brought in. "If it doesn't look like scrap, it's not scrap."
But copper tubing rarely has any type of marking on it, making it nearly impossible to know where it came from, Bulat said. A can of spray paint is a cheap way to scare would-be copper thieves by simply painting a section of the metal with a bright color, he said.
"They won’t take those. In their minds, it’s marked," Bulat said. "If we did receive any coils with spray paint, we’re gonna call police.”
Other solutions include adding motion lights around an air conditioning unit or a pressure switch, which can alert a home alarm system when a line is cut. Being aware of vacant homes in your neighborhood is also a good idea, experts said.
While copper theft crimes don't show any signs of slowing down, many are hopeful that spreading the word will help fight the expensive -- and hot -- problem.
"If you want to go pick up cans, pick up cans," Golsen said. "But don’t pick up someone else’s cans.”
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