Copper Wire: Not worth the trouble!

John Dixon

True cop story.

Back in the late 80's, I was in patrol and I got behind a small car about 2 am on a lonely road. As it approached the only red light in the area (it was red), I noticed smoke coming from the back. At first, it looked like it was just exhaust, but as it came to a stop, I saw smoke was coming from the trunk which was not completely closed (some sort of rope holding it down). I called in the description, lit him up, and he stopped. As I approached, I noticed two very nervous males who only spoke Spanish. No ID, etc. The smoke was coming from a big gob of insulated wire that apparently had been getting burned to remove the insulation material. Obviously, something was not right. While detaining them, the dispatcher called for another zone car to take a break-in in my area, close to where I first saw the "smoking" car. I recognized the address of the break-in call as a vacant commercial building (they manafactured fiberglass tub/shower units). I asked the dispatcher to get the alarm "runner" to advise on anything that appeared missing. Turns out, the crooks had torn out all the wiring in the warehouse area (which had no power) and burned "something", but then tripped a motion sensor when they left through the office area (still had power). At the time, scrap metal places were paying premiums for copper. If a place went vacant for long, it was not uncommon for people to tear out all the wire to sell at scrap yards.

Guess who I had stopped?

They got to hear about "la carcel" from me. Then they got to go there.

John

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John Dixon

Si vis pacem parabellum

Stay off the trails of others, that's where the booby-traps are.