A viewer emailed Channel 2 Action News about the thefts, but when Channel 2s Tony Thomas went to the neighborhood, he said it was worse than he anticipated, because residents told Thomas its happening almost every night.
Homeowner Daniel Thomas, no relation, keeps thinking, I’m next! he said.
Many of the neighbors in the Vintage Pointe subdivision echo that fear.
Right now they are hitting the ones [that are] vacant. When the vacants are gone, they’ll start hitting the ones where people just aren’t home, Daniel Thomas said.
Residents said that for the last two weeks, someone has been slipping into the subdivision just off Flint River Road in the middle of the night and swiping AC units. So far just from vacant homes.
Several vanished in the last couple of nights. Many of them were ripped open and gutted apparently for the copper, neighbors said.
Others, though, are taken all in one piece, leaving only sliced wiring and an empty pad.
Well, I know times are hard, but it seems like it’s harder for the people who are doing it, said one neighbor.
Several residents said they’ve repeatedly called police, but officers can’t arrive soon enough to nab the thieves.
You can drive by and see a house is empty, and you can bet your last dollar that house is going to be next, Daniel Thomas said.
Many of the homes that have been hit are in foreclosure and bank-owned.
Neighbors worry that since the AC units likely wont’ be replaced anytime soon, the empty homes are now open targets for more vandalism.
