Copper cords hot item for thieves

Copper continues to be a must-steal item for Spokane Valley thieves who hit three businesses last weekend.

Someone climbed a fence surrounding a storage yard at 521 N. Eastern Road and stole an unknown amount of copper wire. The storage yard is owned by Class 8 Trucks, which discovered the theft Sunday, though Spokane Valley police say the theft might have occurred as early as Friday night.

Easily recycled for drug money, copper wiring and plumbing are often stolen by thieves who leave behind other valuables.

Also Sunday, workers at Huber Trucking, 6222 E. Desmet Ave., discovered copper extension cords stolen from 15 freight trucks. Huber uses the cords to prevent the truck’s diesel fuel from gelling on cold nights. Investigator Erick Johnson was able to follow tracks through the snow. He climbed through a hole cut in Huber’s fence and eventually discovered a cut fence leading to another business, Fabral Inc. at 6207 E. Desmet Ave.

Vehicles in Fabral’s lot also were missing cords. After working over the Fabral lot, the thief’s booty was apparently getting too heavy to carry. Drag marks began appearing in the snow, which led Johnson to a stash of cords beneath some cardboard. Eventually, the thief’s footprints ended on a well-traveled street.

Anyone with information about any of the burglaries is asked to call the Spokane Valley police at 242-TIPS.