Copper Thieves Targeting Downspouts in Montgomery County

WASHINGTON - We know about thieves going after gold and jewelry, but copper? Downspouts off your gutters are the target of thieves more often than you might think, and especially lately in Montgomery County.

Montgomery County Police have their sights set on new suspects who have been ripping copper downspouts off of homes.

“They basically pull up close to the house in their pickup truck and then they use their tools and cut the downspouts and cut the gutters off of the homes,” said Sgt. Jennifer McNeal of Montgomery County Police.

Stacy Samet lives across the street from one of the homes most recently hit in Bethesda. She said the thieves pulled three downspouts off the back of the house when no one was home. Then she noticed part of her downspout missing recently.

“I'm wondering if they started to take mine and maybe they got spooked, something happened,” said Samet.

“Since November, we’ve seem to have a rise in the amount of copper thefts,” said Sgt. McNeal.

There have been nearly 30 thefts in Bethesda, Potomac and Rockville. The gutters are easily accessible and the copper has a high resale value. Police say no one has been hurt in any of the incidents.

The thieves strike at night and during the day. Police said a couple times, the suspects have been confronted. The suspects claim to be doing work for a gutter company and then they take off.

Anyone with information about these or similar thefts, or the suspect(s) involved, is asked to call the 1st District Investigative Section at 240-773-6084 or the 2nd District Investigative Section at 301-657-0112. Anyone who witnesses similar suspicious activity is asked to call the police non-emergency number at 301-279-8000.