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SALT LAKE CITY — Thousands of feet of copper wiring were stolen in Sandy, and police want help tracking down the thieves.
Police say in just the past month, thieves have broken into three different breaker boxes to access the wiring inside, and they've gotten away with thousands of dollars of copper.
Sandy Police Sgt. Greg Moffitt says the latest report came this week.
"Fifteen hundred feet of copper wire was removed from a total of five lamps," Moffitt said. "There was obviously some sort of operation that took place."
This week's theft happened between 11200 South and 11400 South along 1300 East.
The case isn't isolated. Two similar crimes have taken place, both in mid-October. The first was at 8300 South and 1500 East, another at 9600 South and 1300 East.
Police don't know if the same person, or group, is responsible for the crimes.
"All in Sandy, all within a couple of miles of each other. Police do believe it's likely there are witnesses," Moffitt said.
In all, the thieves have gotten away with about 4,200 feet of wiring, which weighs about ¾ of a pound per foot.
The weight is critical for thieves as they cash in the copper at scrap yards, which in the Salt Lake Valley will pay just over $3 a pound. The cost to replace the wiring by the city is more than double the price that scrap yards pay for it.
"We're hoping someone saw something that can at least lead us in a direction to start building some leads," Moffitt said.
Sandy police want to stop this from happening again. If you think you have useful information, they want to hear from you.
The non-emergency number is 801-568-INFO.
