‘To get this repaired is gonna be in the thousands:’ Copper piping stolen from Jacksonville AC units

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — An Arlington property owner wants to send a warning about thieves stealing valuable parts of air conditioning units. It could leave you with an inoperable unit and an expensive repair bill.

Don Werkema has a commercial property on the market, ready to be sold. While showing it to a broker, he found his back gate had been tampered with, and copper piping for his eight AC units and a walk-in cooler were gone.

>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<

“The value of that copper scrap might have been a couple hundred bucks or something, but for me to get this repaired is gonna be in the thousands,” Werkema said. “Every single one of those units, not only did I lose the copper, that’s the minor thing. It’s the refrigerant charge that costs a lot of money.”

He filed a police report with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.

“I thought I had it [the property] protected because I had the gates secured,” Werkema said. “I actually have boards screwed in on the gates, but they went in through a different gate and cut the lock.”

[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]

These types of thefts have become more common in recent years, because of the increased value of scrap copper. Copper thefts have threatened U.S. critical infrastructure dating back to 2008 when thefts were at their peak, according to the FBI.

We reached out to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office to learn the number of cases tied to criminal mischief and air conditioner theft. We’re waiting to get the breakdown of cases for 2023 and 2024.

Some ways to protect your unit are by investing in a metal security cage or getting a VIN number engraved on the piping.

[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]

Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.