According to incident reports filed with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, metal thefts were reported on Hugh Road, the power substation off U.S. 19, and the 1700 block of Philema Road.
All three thefts occurred at area businesses, investigators say.
At W.W. Williams, ongoing thefts of transmission cases forced business owners to set a trap by luring the metal thief back to their shop to steal a specially-marked case that was later found at an Albany scrap yard, the report states.
Officials at the scrap yard were able to give investigators a video tape of the person who they say brought the case to the business to sell.
Deputies say that person, a 49-year-old Albany man is now being investigated and questioned for his role in the incident.
On U.S. 19 South, officials with Pike Electric company reported Wednesday that someone took scrap copper wiring that was in an unlocked bin in the back of one of their trucks that they keep behind a fence at a power substation.
According to that report, it appeared as if the thieves used a hand cart or other wheeled device to help offload the wire. The value of the metal wasn’t listed in the report.
Finally, officials with Leesburg Air on Philema Road told deputies Wednesday that someone had taken the air conditioner coil from the business, reports show.
The items stolen were said to be valued at $600, the report says.
Lee County Investigator Miles O’Quinn said Thursday that scrap metal thefts are a problem because of the value of the metal.
“It’s lucrative,” O’Quinn said. “When the prices on metal go up, our thefts go up, when and if they come back down, I suspect we’ll see them go down.”
Investigators say that business owners and property owners are doing about as much as they can, but that it’s important that charges be pursued once a theft is discovered.