SOUTH BEND - We've heard of scrappers stealing copper wires and pipes, but now they're targeting metal on toilets.
Police say someone managed to shut off the water and steal a small copper piece from the urinal inside the McDonald's on North Michigan Street in the middle of the afternoon last Thursday.
"It just shows you how low someone will stoop," said South Bend Police Capt. Phil Trent.
Trent says this is the first time a local business has reported toilet tampering for copper, but he's not surprised.
Also last week, two workers hired to scrap metal from a former Honeywell building in the 3500 block of Westmoore Street ended up pocketing the $600 cash they received for the metal and quit their job with the outside company. Police also arrested two men for stealing siding and copper wires from a building in the 2900 block of south Main Street.
When precious metal prices go up, police see an increase in reported scrapping thefts, Trent said.
In this rough economy, it's causing local businesses to flush hundreds of dollars down the drain to repair the destruction.
"It costs a heck of a lot more to replace the device than the person's actually getting for the metal," he added, saying whomever took that small piece of metal from the McDonald's urinal would likely only get a couple dollars for it at a scrap yard.
Police haven't made any arrests in the case.
South Bend scrap yards have to follow a city ordinance when they buy scrap metal from people - including keeping a file on each customer that lists the type of car the person is driving and a copy of their driver's license.
Most scrap yards have become much more vigilant when it comes to accepting scrap metal that appears to be stolen, Trent said. Some, for example, won't buy from a person who simply walks up with a shopping cart or small container of metals that are obviously stolen.
