The worsening economy has sparked a rash of metal thefts in the metro Omaha area. The most common target is copper (wire, sheeting, whatever), from houses under construction, from houses scheduled to be razed, even from the construction site of the Omaha Police Dept.'s new shooting range, if memory serves. Other metals, such as steel, are also taken--the scrap value for any and all of them makes the risks of stealing them worth it in the eyes of the despicable, the desperate, and the dumb.
I was of the opinion that the copper theft from the OPD was the most brazen . . . until yesterday. Yesterday, a man spotted a semi-tractor trailer loaded with 21 tons of steel beams. So he got a semi cab, hooked it to the trailer, and tried to drive off with it. Had he succeeded, he'd have gotten $10,000 for the scrap value of the metal.
Unluckily for him, his bold daylight theft was seen, and he was caught and arrested almost immediately.
Good thing, too. The beams were on their way to Fremont, to be used in the construction of a new medical facility there.
Part of me wants to laugh about the sheer absurdity of the situation. Part of me wants to cry because things have gotten so bad that the putative thief thought his act was worth the risk.
Maybe I should have called this post "Putting The 'B' (For 'Brazen') In DumB."
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