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LAS CRUCES - The price of copper going up more than 60 percent since last year probably doesn't mean much to you. Unless you're a home-builder. Or a thief.
In the last month, copper futures have shot up to $4.63 per pound, according to the Wall Street Journal. Locally, scrap and metals traders will pay you about $1.80 per pound for it.
That's added up to tens of thousands in theft in more than a dozen under-construction homes in Las Cruces, in just one month, according to the Las Cruces Police Department. Copper wiring was stolen from nine homes under construction on the 4400 block of Levante Drive - a subdivision off Northrise Drive - before dawn Jan. 10. Two days later, three more homes under construction were burglarized, also before dawn.
And then there's the lost time, said Jeffrey Page, an HVAC technician who installs systems for eight builders in town. On Tuesday, Page was re-installing a full cooling system in a Hakes Brothers home off Sonoma Ranch Boulevard, in a neighborhood bustling with workers' trucks and new homes in various stages of construction.
"This whole block's been hit twice," said Page, who's been a service technician for 10 years. "We're trying to use cords to tie it down. This is what they're taking."
He unrolled a length of shiny, 7/8" copper pipe, surrounded by black foam, which carries refrigerant from a cooling coil throughout the house - which for now, is just a skeleton with a roof and a few fixtures.
"They're just pulling them
"It puts everything behind," said fellow service tech Oscar Vasquez.
"And it's costing a lot," Page added. Builders will pay $180, not including labor, for a 50-foot length of the thick copper. A thief can turn that around and make perhaps $54. The cost, per house, is about $1,500 in damage, he said.
USA Can Recycle Warehouse is one business that won't take copper, but owner Mike Robles is well aware of the black market. Robles wasn't available for an interview Tuesday, but in 2007, during another rash of such thefts, he told the Sun-News that he's had to turn away people bearing new copper - obviously from a construction site - and also bronze urns, the kind that are stolen from cemeteries. He takes an extra step, he said at the time: video cameras at the warehouse capture possible crooks' faces and he sends the images to police.
"If a guy's selling copper and doesn't have a company truck and is not even asking for receipts," Vasquez said, that should set off a red flag.
But some places, mostly in the El Paso area, reportedly aren't as honest: "I don't know if they're even asking questions," Page said.
The builders are trying to combat the trade as well, but with limited success. Page and his crew have started marking the copper they use. They've changed to PVC, where they can.
But mostly, they've been doing the two-hour jobs over again. That adds up when there are a dozen homes at a time to repair, or when impatient crooks rip copper out of sensitive equipment.
"When copper starts going up (in price), that's when they start taking it away," said Vasquez, who said he's seen such waves of theft about four times in his 20-year career.
"It's upsetting because we're so packed on work," Page said. "We have other things to do. So now, we're putting steel straps over some of it, nailing wood over other parts so they have less leverage to pull it out. We're trying to outsmart them and they're outsmarting us. I'm having to bust my booty here."
Unfortunately, the thieves are busting their booties too, it seems.
"This is what they do," Page admits. "They're pros. Kicking in doors and hopping walls. It seems like they know what's inside - before they even come inside ... Some electricians put in little hunting cameras to catch those guys. They got stolen. It's really starting to be a headache. It's like they're laughing at us."
The Las Cruces Police Department is asking anyone who lives near new construction to keep an eye out for suspicious activity and to call 911 immediately if they see anything out of the ordinary near under-construction homes. A $1,000 reward - or about 216 pounds of copper - is being offered for information that leads to the arrest or arrests of anyone involved in the recent thefts.
Anyone with any information on the identity of the suspect, or suspects, is asked to call Las Cruces Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-TIPS (8477) or send a tip via text message to LCTIPS (528477). The Crime Stoppers number and text messaging services are operational 24 hours a day and you do not have to give your name to collect a reward.
Ashley Meeks can be reached at (575) 541-5462.
