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April 15, 2008

Copper, ATV thefts may be on the rise

By Rich Flowers

The Athens Police Department is investigating the latest occurrences of two crimes that are showing up regularly in police reports.

Thefts of copper wire and all-terrain vehicles have been on the rise — mainly because criminals have discovered they offer quick ways to make money, police say. Athens Police Department Lt. Bill Gurley said officers have seen several cases of both in recent weeks.

At 11:52 p.m. Saturday, police received a call that the Athens Bowling Center and two nearby buildings had been burglarized. Air conditioning units were taken from each of the buildings.

“We theorize that they took them for the copper in them to sell the metal,” Gurley said.

While there have been several cases of copper theft reported to APD, Gurley said the Henderson County Sheriff’s Department has investigated a larger number of cases in rural areas.

“The thieves go into vacant houses or houses up for sale and steal the copper. It’s a real problem,” Gurley said.

Henderson County Sheriff’s Department Public Information Officer Lt. Pat McWilliams said the thefts in Henderson County are an ongoing problem but are not unique to the area.

“It’s not just Henderson County, it’s everybody,” McWilliams said. “We answer those calls several times a week. As long as the market holds up for it, they’re going to steal it.”

McWilliams said copper thefts occur at residences, construction sites and just about anywhere the metal can be found.

“They’ll even strip the copper out of welding leads,” McWilliams said.

And then there’s the ATVs.

Saturday morning, Athens Police received a call from Dan Eckert that a 2006 Yamaha Grizzly four-wheeler had been taken from the back of his truck while it was parked at his residence on Bunny Rabbit Road. Officer Billy Westover took a report for theft of more than $1,500 but less than $20,000.

“We’re getting those cases because its easy to (sell) those items,” Gurley said.

Stolen ATVs are easier to track than pillaged copper because each has a Vehicle Identification Numbers.

“We enter those into the Department of Public Safety Database,” Gurley said. “Anytime the officer stops someone for some reason who is hauling ATVs , they run the VIN number to see if any of them have been stolen. They’ve recovered quite a few that way.”

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