Second church targeted by copper thieves

The outside lights were disconnected and the power switches were in the off position.

Five air-conditioning units were torn apart and the copper pipes were removed.

"They knew what they were doing," said a sullen Paul Meseke, the pastor at Christ Lutheran Church.

The thefts occurred late Wednesday or early Thursday, Meseke said.

He didn't notice the broken units – which are located in the rear of the church – until about 11 a.m. Thursday.

A couple hours after the police were called, Meseke walked along the rear of the building and stopped in front of the largest unit, which provides air conditioning for the fellowship hall. All of the copper was missing. He pointed to the rusty fan unit lying on the ground next to the double glass doors. It normally rests on top of the air conditioner.

It was the first thing Meseke noticed when he looked outside.

"It's sickening when you hear about it, but it sickens you even more when it happens to you," he said.

Another copper theft was reported the same morning at an abandoned building at 11331 Ponce De Leon Blvd., which is in proximity to a Florida Highway Patrol building, according to the Hernando County Sheriff's Office.

In all, four copper theft cases have been reported since Monday in Hernando.

Early Monday morning, one or more suspects stole copper from six air-conditioning units at the VFW Post 10209 at 14736 Edward R. Noll Drive in Spring Hill, deputies said.

The following night, deputies responded to Nativity Lutheran Church at 6363 Commercial Way in Weeki Wachee. That case is being investigated as an attempted theft, said Cpl. Wendy McGinnis, a sheriff's spokeswoman.

The theft at Christ Lutheran is being handled by the Brooksville Police Department while the other three cases are being handled by the sheriff's office.

No one has confirmed whether some or all of the cases are connected.

"I can't imagine the mind that does something like this," said Meseke. "It's sad to me we've come to a point where this isn't uncommon, you know?"

McGinnis said earlier in the week copper thefts increase when the market price spikes, but the latest data show copper prices have actually dropped in recent days.

Meseke guessed the burglars did about $100,000 in damage to the five units on the church's property. One of the units was installed as recently as last summer.

"This was not an act by desperate people," said Meseke. "Thieves did this."