Several Sudbury, Ont. businesses had their air conditioners vandalized, costing them thousands of dollars
Sudbury Police arrested a suspect on June 16 they believe was responsible for at least six copper thefts
A restaurant in downtown Sudbury has paid more than $9,000 to repair an air conditioning unit that was vandalized three times since the spring.
The Doghouse Sports Bar is among at least a half dozen businesses in the northern Ontario city that had their air conditioning vandalized in recent months.
"It's not sustainable for small businesses downtown to have to continue to replace their units at this point weekly," said Ranya Wehbe, the restaurant's office manager.
The Doghouse posted about the vandalism on its Facebook page and received messages of support from customers, and shared frustration from other downtown business owners.
"I just felt that it wasn't fair that small businesses were being targeted," Wehbe said.
"I knew that we had a larger following online, so I figured if we could utilize that to help find this person and put a stop to not only our vandalism and the vandalism of other businesses in downtown Sudbury, then that would be really helpful."
Air conditioning units contain small amounts of copper piping, which thieves steal so they can sell it on the black market.
Wehbe said they might make $30 selling the copper, but businesses like hers pay thousands to repair the damage they cause to get to it.
The Doghouse first opened its doors in December 1998, but Wehbe said this has been the first year they've had to pay to repair damage to their air conditioners. The restaurant has also made some investments to deter would-be thieves, although Wehbe didn't want to go into detail about those to give them ideas.
She said they first noticed the vandalism in the spring, and had to replace the entire unit at a cost of $6,500.
The second time they were able to repair the unit, at a cost of $1,100, and the third time it cost another $1,500 to repair.
Wehbe posted security camera footage of the most recent incident, and said they later heard from police that they arrested the person responsible. That was thanks to the Doghouse's footage, and images from other businesses that helped identify the person.
Greater Sudbury Police Det. Sgt. Derick Rose said police made the arrest on June 16, and charged the person with theft, possession of stolen property and mischief.
Rose said police believe the person was connected to at least six thefts of copper from air conditioning units around the city.
"So this is not an organized group of individuals or something that numerous individuals are doing on their own," he said.
"It was one individual who we hope we have stopped from committing further crimes such as these."
Rose added police work closely with scrap yards in the city, who keep records on their purchases and let them know if anything looks suspicious.
I'm saddened that our society has come to a point where people feel this is necessary to do.- Terry McMahon, owner, Bradley Pharmacy
Terry McMahon owns the Notre Dame Medical Centre building north of downtown Sudbury, and said the same person vandalized an air conditioning unit for the centre's Bradley Pharmacy.
McMahon said his maintenance manager noticed the copper piping was removed from the unit on Monday. It cost him more than $2,100 to repair the damage.
"I'm saddened that our society has come to a point where people feel this is necessary to do," he said.
McMahon said his air conditioning supplier bolted some extra flashing near the unit to deter future would-be thieves.
"I guess we'll wait and see how effective that is," he said.
High cost of repairs
On June 1, two air conditioners at the Art Gallery of Sudbury were vandalized,
Demetra Christakos, the gallery's director and curator, said they made an appeal to the community to raise funds for the repairs, and collected $7,400 as of Thursday morning.
"I want to express the deep thanks to the community for responding to that appeal," Christakos said.
But on Monday she learned the repairs would cost $43,400.
The two damaged units were older, and used refrigerant that is now obsolete, Christakos said. Because they would need to be replaced with new units, that would also mean significant upgrades to the gallery's HVAC system.
Christakos said the gallery will continue its appeal for support from the community, and is applying for some grants that could help cover the cost of repairs and upgrades.
She said she was sad to hear small businesses have been facing the same challenges.
"You can't leave anything outside. It's going to be seized immediately," she said.
"And I've watched with appreciation and admiration of the police services trying to deal with these circumstances, but it makes it very, very difficult to do business. And my heart goes out to those, the other businesses that have been affected by this."
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