COMMERCE CITY, Colo. (KDVR) — It’s a bold and costly crime wave sweeping through Commerce City: Thieves are targeting copper wiring in broad daylight.
Investigators say it’s happening everywhere. Outside businesses, along highways and even in neighborhoods. It took two officers just to lift one spool of copper, weighing nearly 300 pounds, from a recent bold theft.
“It seems like it’s been a little more active lately,” said Derek Aragon, Detective Sergeant with the Commerce City Police Department. “I think the numbers show that we’ve probably doubled in the rash of thefts in the last six months.”
Police in Commerce City say they’re seeing a surge: Seven thefts in just September alone. That’s double the norm, and the criminals are not exactly subtle.
From plowing through locked gates with stolen vehicles to cutting through privacy fences just to access spools of copper. Even backflow preventers outside businesses aren’t safe.
Copper wire stripped from already constructed buildings, roads and other infrastructure are being stolen by individuals looking for cash. (Courtesy the Commerce City Police Department) 
Copper wire stripped from already constructed buildings, roads and other infrastructure are being stolen by individuals looking for cash. (Courtesy the Commerce City Police Department) 
Copper wire stripped from already constructed buildings, roads and other infrastructure are being stolen by individuals looking for cash. (Courtesy the Commerce City Police Department) 
Copper wire stripped from already constructed buildings, roads and other infrastructure are being stolen by individuals looking for cash. (Courtesy the Commerce City Police Department)
Aragon tells FOX31 that when copper is worth hundreds of dollars per pound, thieves are willing to risk anything, even their lives.
“We found clothes that were burned. We never did find the suspect, but if that gives you kind of any idea how just dangerous some of these things are,” he said. “Some of them have been electrocuted.”
The crime isn’t just illegal, it’s expensive. Some businesses are left with tens of thousands of dollars in damage. Others are left with no lights, no water or no peace of mind.
“It affects all of us because what’s going to happen in the end, they’re going to claim some insurance claims and what happens to those of us, the taxpayers, we’re paying for that stuff in the end. In one shape or form,” said Aragon.
It’s not just vans or cargo trucks pulling off these jobs.
Aragon said, “They take off on their bicycles, they take off on foot.”
No suspects are currently in custody for the most recent theft, but investigators are working leads, and they’re asking you to help stop the next one.
“Without our eye in the sky or our citizens and these people looking out, it’s hard for us, said Aragon. “Just be a good witness.”
Anthony Sutton is a business strategist and writer with a passion for management, leadership, and entrepreneurship. With years of experience in the corporate world, he shares insights on business growth, strategy, and innovation through management-opleiding.org.
