& & MOUNT AIRY, N.C.  — WXII12.com &

Fred O'Neal of Surry Electric Motor & Controls on Hadley Street knew something wasn't right soon after opening for business Wednesday.

"When we cut the heating and air on this morning, about 30 minutes later we didn't have any," O'Neal said later in the day.

As it turned out someone had stolen four large air-conditioning units from the Mount Airy business, including one being displayed for sale and three that were in use there. "In fact, we're sitting here sweating today," said O'Neal.

As if that wasn't bad enough, thieves already had struck Surry Electric Motor & Controls once before "they hit me again last night," O'Neal said.

And the thefts are adding up, he said. "I just got my estimates back from replacing the ones taken last night and it's about $18,000 in replacement costs."

Surry Electric Motor & Controls is not alone, as the crimes there are part of a recent rash of thefts of HVAC equipment including central-air/heat pumps, window air-conditioning units and similar equipment.

"It looks like since June around the south end of town we've had 23 instances of air-conditioning and heat units" being stolen, said Lt. Jim Armbrister of the Mount Airy Police Department. He added that similar crimes have occurred elsewhere in the city, targeting businesses as well as vacant rental or other homes.

This translates into many thousands of dollars in stolen property, with some central-air units valued at $5,000 apiece, in addition to damages caused when they are stolen and the inconveniences posed to owners. "All of that adds up," Armbrister said.

Higher prices for metals, combined with unemployment and a depressed economy, seem to be responsible.

"I've been here since 1988," said O'Neal, a veteran businessman and former county commissioner, "and until last year I never had a bit of problems."

The focus of such crimes seems to be the copper, coils, condensers and other metallic items contained within the HVAC equipment, he said.

Yet O'Neal finds it "irritating" that someone might steal $20,000 worth of property, "then get $500 for the scrap" from some salvage business. "They're not getting 10 cents on the dollar."

Armbrister, the police spokesman, said thieves have stripped metal components from some of the equipment on-site. In other cases, such as the most-recent crime at Surry Electric Motor & Controls, the entire units are loaded onto a vehicle and hauled away.

O'Neal said there were signs that someone had backed in to take the property from his business, which he guesses was done by at least two people because the units are "too heavy for one person to lift."

He added that a key factor involved is a rule in state building codes requiring such HVAC devices to have a power-disconnect point within arm's reach of them, as opposed to this being located on the inside of a building.

Criminals seem to have become educated about this rule and taken full advantage. "To me, that just fuels it," O'Neal added of the theft problem.

Police Precautions

While O'Neal agrees that law enforcement personnel can't stake out a particular business or other location on a 24-7 basis, city police are trying to build public awareness of the crimes in an effort to prevent others.

Officers have noted a pattern in which thieves are striking in areas where no one is present overnight, including businesses after closing times or vacant homes.

"They'll case them out where the realty signs are up and they'll hit those at night," Armbrister said of one example.

"We need residents, Realtors and business people to keep their eyes out for any kind of suspicious activity," he advised Wednesday. This includes the presence of strange vehicles or people driving or walking through an area repeatedly.

Citizens are asked to report such sightings to police and aside from that to "take whatever measures they can do themselves." This might include having metal gates constructed around heat pumps to discourage thefts. "We've actually had some to do that," Armbrister said.

Maybe that won't stop thieves completely, "but it delays them," he said.

Criminals tend to go for the "easy pickings," Armbrister said, where their time at a scene can be minimized.

Installing lighting around units located in concealed areas also can increase visibility and deter thefts, he said.

O'Neal is concerned that the condition of the economy will cause such crimes to worsen as time passes. "I just hate that something like this has to happen."

This article appeared in Thusday's edition of the Mount Airy News.

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