Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Irrigation Tube Thieves- AAAARGH

Around central Ohio there have been a lot of thefts of bronze cemetery urns and other fixtures, as well as lots of air conditioner equipment and anything else they can sell for a few cents on the dollar.
Aluminum bleachers at some of the schools have had parts stolen which makes for expensive replacement for something that didn't net very much scrap value. Even manhole covers disappear occasionally, and AFAIK, the thieves are never identified when the stuff ends up in the scrapyard.
Columbus has a law that requires scrap yards to get a photo ID from sellers, but seems to do no good.

Myron

yep-and they take a recording that you say where it came from - we have photo and finger printing on all copper here in AZ

All thieves are liars, and many liars are thieves. I find either the most despicable vermin on earth.

Double Star M4...

Hmm. OK, anyone else get a chill down their spine?

Gotta' respect that kind of straighforwardness on some levels... I think!

Sorry for your troubles, OP. People in the city are scavenging/stealing copper/alum/anything they can sell in some places. Shameful and disgusting the standard to which some these days hold themselves.

Might be legal in Texas, I dunno to what level the property crime in progress has to be.

Two or three times in this city over the past couple of decades high-school age kids have been shot and killed while thieving or breaking and entering. We had one guy shoot and kill a teenage thief from his apartment balcony while they were breaking into his truck, IIRC the guy walked. Another teenager or two has been shot and killed by homeowners during break-ins.

Then there was a guy who was shot and killed while stealing a lawnmower, no charges filed. If one gets killed for that sort of thing one has absolutely no grounds for complaint.

OTOH, the guy who chased a drunk college kid out of his house (who most likely went into the wrong house by mistake, it looked just like his sister's house on the next cul-de-sac down), caught up to him, and shot and killed him at the end of his driveway a couple of years back went to trial recently, ended in a mistrial, to be repeated.

Bet the guy fervently wishes he had let that particular drunk run off.

Birdwatcher

There's a major off-ramp I drive over pretty much everyday from I-95 to I-195 that has nothing but stubs between the guardrail stanchions. Thieves come in with a gas sawsall and chop out the four or five foot sections of aluminum and off they go. Had one try that last year with a large electric lightpole here and he cut into the wiring. He's not a factor in the gene pool anymore.

Generally your not suppose to shoot thieves as they flee your property. It's only suppose to be for self defense. You could have been charged with attempted murder and faced a serious lawsuit. So thank God that you didn't hit anyone.

I don't think he was a fan of thieves either. Remember "thou shalt not steal". miles

It will get worse before it gets better. AS the price of fuel and food goes up we will see those who have less take more, while our gov't is off spending our tax dollars solving problems for the Iraqi's, Afghans , Libiyans and whoever O decides to save next with OUR tax dollars. Magnum Man

This is why all States need Castle Domain Laws.

That's what rock salt 12 ga loads are for!

Texas law now allows the use of deadly force to stop criminal mischief after dark.

Place I work had a large building torn down last year. It was an industrial building about 50 years old,..maybe 40,000 sq feet, or so.

The crew tearing it down got to salvage anything they wanted from the site.

The old air conditioning system consisted of 5 large units installed on the roof of the building. Each unit contained an enormous solid copper radiator.

It's hard to judge the weight of something that large. I'd guess somewhere around 1500 lbs each.

They were happy to get 'em.

They also caught a couple of guys out of Longview selling aluminum guard rails off the Grays River Bridge.

A couple of years before the wife and I moved over to the coast from Central Washington a farmer got into big trouble for shooting and killing some kid that was shooting at his wheel lines with a shot gun during pheasant season. His land was posted and the kid had ignored the signs.