Two charged with stealing A/C parts from vacant buildings, Coral Springs cops say
After a string of air conditioner parts burglaries and over $200,000 in damages, Coral Springs police have arrested two men on multiple felony charges.
Jeremiah James Copeland, 21, and James Calvin Wright, 32, were booked May 20 after cops say they caught the pair during an attempted metal scrapping mission.
Copeland was first arrested on May 4, when cops said they caught him at a shuttered Winn-Dixie in Fort Lauderdale. He allegedly told them that he “collects scrap materials using tools and targets properties he believes to be abandoned,” the police report states.
On May 7, Copeland and Wright were captured on security footage using bolt cutters to illegally enter part of the Village Green Shopping Center, according to arrest documents.
The two allegedly cut brass and copper parts out of an air conditioning unit there, causing $1,500 in damage.
Copper and brass prices are at their highest in over a decade. High demand for the minerals — essential to electronics, construction and renewable energy systems — means scrapping has become more lucrative.
A Flock license plate reader on North University Drive and NW 31st Court captured the vehicle the suspects used, which was identified as a white and blue 2006 Ford F250 pickup truck registered to Copeland.
In the early hours of May 20, police wrote that they surveilled the truck behind Park’s TaeKwonDo in Coral Springs, located at 5867 Wiles Road. Officers wrote that Wright was detained when he returned to the truck.
After more officers arrived, including members of the Broward Sheriff’s Office Aviation Unit, cops said they located Copeland on the roof of a vacant former Walgreens building owned by Calvary Chapel of Fort Lauderdale.
Copeland was actively tampering with air conditioning units there, court records state, resulting in an estimated $200,000 worth of damage. After being issued verbal commands, he exited the roof and was taken into custody without incident.
Both men face felony charges, including burglary resulting in structual damage, grand theft and criminal mischief.
