Copper Thieves Strike Again

Just as fast as the Mobile County School District replaces their air conditioning units, it seems thieves are tearing them up.

Copper thieves struck again Wednesday night, destroying units at Faulkner Technical School and Booker T. Washington Middle School. The thieves climbed on top of the schools' roofs and tore into the air conditioners, stripping them of their copper coils.

According to school officials, the street value of the stolen copper is only a few hundred dollars, but it will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to repair the damage.

"It's horrible because we just put these units on the roof probably 60 days ago," said Bobby Stringer, the maintenance supervisor for the Mobile County School District.

This was the second time Booker T. Washington was hit by copper thieves in the last two weeks, and W.D. Robbins Elementary School and Vigor High School have also been struck.

Mobile police arrested 47-year-old David Lamar Thomas for the theft at Booker T. Washington. Thomas is charged with burglary, resisting arrest and carrying a concealed weapon. A police spokesman tells News Five they are looking into whether Thomas was involved in any of the other school copper thefts, but as of right now they do not know if they are connected.