Business Owner Frustrated After Being Hit Twice By Copper Thieves
MONCTON — A rental company owner in downtown Moncton says more needs to be done to prevent copper theft in the City of Moncton.
Jo-Anne Phillips says her Cameron Street home, which is currently being renovated, was hit twice last week by thieves.
Last week, during the night, thieves broke into Phillips’ home, which is under renovation in the city’s downtown. They discovered the theft in the morning when they went to clear snow. Their back door was broken open with a crowbar and the home was completely stripped of copper.
“They stripped copper wire and they stripped copper piping from the plumbing. The home was absolutely destroyed,” Phillips says.
She says it was a scary incident and she was lucky no one was staying there at the time because of the work being done.
“The home is on Cameron Street and it’s situated between two other homes on the block, but neither neighbour saw anything. The perps apparently were on foot and bike so there’s no license plate, no identification,” Phillips adds.
That was just the first incident. Phillips says after reporting it to the police, they came and investigated.
“We called in some friends some tradespeople to secure the home. The door [the thieves] had broken into with a crowbar was screwed closed with three-inch screws and in the rest of the home we put brand-new bolt locks on. But then thieves came back two nights later. They couldn’t get in so they broke the glass. Then, they removed the screws with a screwdriver and went back in to get the electrical that our electrician had put in to provide heat to the home. So they took the brand-new wiring that had just been installed,” Phillips says.
Since then, she has called several recycling depots in the area to see if anyone came in selling large amounts of copper.
Anyone accepting metals must see a valid New Brunswick ID and address before purchasing but Phillips says no one reported receiving any large amounts similar to what was taken from her home.
Phillips says the police told her surveillance systems often don’t do much to help because thieves will wear hoods or facemasks. They often don’t have a vehicle to identify a license plate and unless there’s a serial number on the copper it’s very difficult to charge anyone or even prove that’s where it came from.
“But what a thief may get $300 or $400 for, is going to cost us anywhere from $35-$40,000 to do repairs,” Phillips says.
Phillips says copper theft is becoming an epidemic.
“We need to find a solution for these people who keep taking from our community,” she says.
Tara Clow is the news director with 91.9 The Bend in Moncton, a Huddle content partner.