Two more Oxford businesses have been victimized by a thief or thieves stealing copper coils from heating/air conditioning units.
The thefts come after a similar incident last month at another business on Willenbrock Road.
Police believe the thefts are connected.
Oxford Resident State Trooper Dan Semosky said the recent spate of thefts has been “very frustrating” but that police are on the case.
“We’ve spent a lot of time and are looking at several different avenues” of investigation, he said.
The most recent thefts occurred from GEM Manufacturing on Fox Hollow Road and PTA Corporation on Christian Street.
Police put the time frame for the thefts in February and March, saying it’s difficult to pinpoint an exact time because the businesses victimized wouldn’t have known about the thefts until trying to use the air conditioning.
“You really don’t know it’s gone until you go over and turn on the AC and nothing happens,” Semosky said.
Police suspect the coils were likely taken overnight or on weekend nights.
Police pegged the repair costs to the units at $50,000 or more for each of the businesses involved, far more than the scrap value of the metal taken.
Freon gas, which is environmentally damaging, is also released during the thefts, according to police.
Police also said the thieves likely have technical knowledge of air conditioning units.
“It has to be somebody who has knowledge in HVAC,” Semosky said. “It’s very clear that’s the case. It’s not a hack job.”
He urged anyone with information about the thefts to call the Resident State Trooper’s Office at 203 – 888-4353. He also said residents should be on the lookout for suspicious activity around commercial buildings, like strange trucks or vans parked nearby, especially at night.
In the meantime, he said, police will check such businesses more often and coordinate with departments in other towns where they hear of such thefts taking place.
“We’re definitely stepping up patrols on midnights,” he said. “These days anything that isn’t tied down is basically being taken for scrap.”
In 2010, both Ansonia and Derby were victimized by thieves targeting large, commercial air conditioning units. Click here to read that story.
And Oxford experienced a spate of metal thefts last September.
A 20-year-old Derby man was arrested in October after police said officers caught him trying to steal copper wire from the Connecticut Light and Power storage yard on Great Hill Road. That suspect is currently in a probationary program that could see his record expunged, according to court records.
