(The following report appeared at WFTV.com on November 20. For a copy of the video, visit: http://www.wftv.com/news/14652670/detail.html)
SANFORD, Fla. — Copper thieves have hit homes, street lights and air conditioners. Now authorities say crooks are targeting trains in Seminole County and one crook was caught while a camera watched the takedown.
One source at Amtrak told Eyewitness News they’ve lost as much as $15,000 worth of copper cables. So, investigators decided to stake out an area by setting up inside rail cars. When they spotted a suspect in the act, they needed help from an extra set of eyes in the sky to catch him.
The infrared camera from a Seminole County sheriff’s helicopter caught the first image of their suspect on the run. Investigators said 50-year-old Darryl Thomas had just tried to steal expensive copper cables from trains at the Amtrak yard in Sanford, but his getaway didn’t last long.
The video shows a police dog taking Thomas down as he tried to escape over a fence.
“What they’ve been stealing is aluminum and copper, specifically taking what they call a 480 volt cable,” said Lt. Don Rufo, Seminole County Sheriff’s Office.
Detectives said Thomas told them he was just looking for cigarette butts, but said they found a box cutter and pliers in his pockets, the same kind of tools investigators think were used in several other thefts at the train yard.
A source with Amtrak told Eyewitness News the problem has become so bad, they’ve nearly run out of the high-grade copper cables that supply power to their trains. Just one can cost as much as $1,500, but the same thing goes for as little as $10 at a recycling yard.
Thomas, who said he’s homeless, had already been arrested earlier this year for stealing aluminum from Amtrak. Now investigators hope his second arrest will send a message to others.
“Knowing that he got caught, hopefully it will deter anyone else from trying to make the same move,” Rufo said.
Detectives said it was their third night of staking out the train yard when they caught Thomas. They know he might not be the only one who’s hit the place, so they said they’ll continue extra patrols in the area.