July 6, 2007
More copper gutters yanked
As I was just told, this time from both a house and a church (!) in Walnut Hill. a) Anyone know what area metal scrap yards are accepting copper gutters? If they don’t pay for stolen gutters, the gutters won’t get stolen. The scrap guys probably would say that they get the name, tel, etc. of scrap sellers; if so, apparently that isn’t enough to disincentivize gutter theft. Another idea: require that if scrap yards do accept gutters, they also take a photo of the scrap and the scrapper? You know, something to help the police link missing gutters to both gutters ‘retrieved’ by the scrap yard and the perps that walked in with the loot?
Google gave me the following close-by metal recyclers:
Atlantic Iron & Metal
804-861-1900
30 Mill St (off Washington)
Petersburg, VA 23803
Hopewell Iron & Metal Co
804-458-8514
213 S 6th Ave
Hopewell VA 23860
I’m not saying they are the culprits, but rather that they are geographically proximate to the victim properties.
There is a precedent for getting the mug of guys bringing in scrap metal to metal recyclers, and similar ordinances:
most scrap collectors that i’ve spoken too go up to richmond because they pay more. they say the guy on washington st. is shady and doesn’t pay well. and of course there’s always cal’s across the river. being that until recently he had giant posters of aborted fetuses on his front windows i’m sure he has the morals of a slug.
Here’s what a wider Google search on “Richmond metal recycling” yields:
Sims-Metal
3220 Deepwater Terminal Rd, Richmond, VA 23234 - (804) 291-3200
Pocket Money Recycling Co
701 Hull St, Richmond, VA 23224 - (804) 233-7252
Smith Iron & Metal Co Inc
3000 Bells Rd, Richmond, VA 23234 - (804) 271-1239
Stratton Metals LLC
900 Brook Rd, Richmond, VA 23220 - (804) 644-8501
Adrian — about “Cal’s” — the only Cal’s Google is giving me is on 101 Boulevard, Colonial Heights, 804.526.0155, but it lists them as a pawn shop. They take scrap metal?
cal’s takes scrap and oh so much more. let’s just say that he is not on the same page as the police when it comes to stolen goods. the fact that his property is an envirornmental disaster spewing slime into the river is just a bonus. be careful if you visit he’s a mean bugger…
Re: “heís a mean buggerÖ”
So am I b/f coffee. ;-)
we got hit… what can we do now?
I suggest some type of meeting with the police department, at the very least with the investigator involved.
Perhaps some type of sting could be set up. I don’t want to go into details of what could be done here for obvious reasons.
I might contact them myself.
File this one under both “it’s not just here” and “do as I say…” — Texas state lawmaker opposing deadly force bill shoots would-be thief [attempting to steal copper piping].
Re: what to do. Some ideas:
1) report it to the police.
2) report it to your City Council representative. This wouldn’t help you get your copper back, but could help in getting Council to pass an ordinance that makes it hard for one to sell scrap locally without giving up who they are and what they look like (see comment #2 above).
c) visit the local scrap dealers. I know this is hopeful at best, but… a member of our community recently reported a missing object to a local antique shop, and turns out about 2 hours later a perp walked into that very shop with the item in question –> the item was returned to its owner and the perp was arrested.
d) give your homeowner’s insurance folks a call and see if they’d like to lobby for greater scrutiny of scrap sales state-wide.
Re: local police, start with the investigative unit, Sgt. Tommy Young.
Also consider candied camera: check this NBC12 piece.
I would like to comment in relation to those who took umbrage with a member of our community who got the word out that copper has been stolen from homes in Petersburg.
1) Petersburg is a city, it is not nirvana. It will suffer the same issues as any other city to varying degrees (of course, citizen activism can help move things in a positive direction).
2) The theft of copper gutters is NOT specific to Petersburg, nor is it specific to crackheads. This is a problem nationwide. And, if a stadium’s bleechers go missing overnight (has happened in numerous cities), one might be inclined to conclude this is not the work of stoned cash-strapped crackheads (they’ve got to be able to move their cargo after all).
3) Brushing problems under the carpet does not get problems solved. Getting the word out so area residents know what suspicious activity to call in to police is more helpful. Further, communicating risks to one’s neighbors alerts them to how they might moderate their exposure to such risks.
Verizon gets out of the copper business (the article hints that this choice may be a function of strategic drivers other than copper prices/theft; however, it succinctly captures the scope of the copper theft problem).
Also, someone suggested that if you have copper gutters, you mark them with ultraviolet markers so they can be positively ID’d in the event they get yanked.
I believe that most of the yanking is the yanking of downspouts, not the gutters. However, if the gutters are low enough, I am confident they will take those too.
And yes, this is not just a Peterbsurg problem. Copper is being stolen across the nation. The police can’t stake out all the houses with copper drainage systems.
Thing is, the scrap yard people aren’t stupid. I believe they mostly know what legit and what’s not when its brought in to them. The cities/counties should look at them HARD.
Good news for a change. Just received this from our friend Roland in Petersburg:\\
hi Mike. Some news the people who stole your guttering have been caught. Your house was one of many in the area. Hope to see you if you are about, kind regards Roland
Great news Michael. Any indication that now that the police have IDd the perps, they have obtained information re: which scrap dealers were buying the scrap?
National coverage on this subject:
1) NPR audio on copper theft across the country (here’s the text intro) and on what various jurisdictions are proposing in response…
2) Washington Post article, For Theives, Copper is Gold in the Gutter.
They are also stealing A/C condensors and parts that are on outside central air units. I had mine stolen off of Seaboard street.
I understand more copper downspouts were stolen in Walnut Hill last Thursday, +/-.
Michael forwards the following article:
Unusual culprits cripple farms in California. In a nutshell, irrigation systems are being targeted.
The article notes that the following responses have been considered in an attempt to address the problem of metal theft:
1) require that recyclers pay by check (which can be traced)
2) require that recyclers take photos of scrap sellers
3) run sting operations
4) place electronic tracking devices on copper bait
Per Gloria Brown of Landmark Resource Center, an alleged copper thief has been arrested and charged with a felony for each gutter taken.
Gloria notes that if you have been a victim, be sure to report it. The detective handling the case is Detective Dave Evans of the Tabb Street and 4th Street annex.
NBC12 reports that a joint effort among police in Petersburg, Emporia, and Sussex led to the arrests (in April and May) of 6 men in relation to a copper theft ring. Apparently these guys were selling the scrap in NC.
Great work on the part of the police departments.
And continue to stay alert folks, as more recent copper robberies/arrests (see comments 20 and 22) indicate that there may be more yank & run operations in town.