Three Tampa men have been arrested in the theft of an air conditioning coil valued at more than $500 from a home in the Greater Brandon area.
According to a report from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, the suspects stole the coil from a vacant Palm River home, at 1804 Cadillac Circle, at around 10 a.m. Sept. 14.
The theft is the latest in a that has the sheriff’s office focusing on the crime.
During the course of stealing the coil, the suspects committed more than $1,000 worth of damage to the air conditioning unit, detectives said.
Arrested were Michael Krukowski, 41, Adam Courtnay, 19, and Brian Hughes, 18, all from Tampa. All three were charged with burglary of an unoccupied dwelling, grand theft, criminal mischief and two counts of child neglect.
Reportedly there were two small children in the truck during the course of the alleged burglary.
The trio were spotted by a deputy who was doing surveillance in the area.
The deputy reportedly saw Courtnay running across the front yard of the home carrying the coil. Courtnay threw the coil over the fence, jumped the fence and put the coil in the bed of a truck, according to the report.
It was further reported that Krukowski was the driver of the 2005 Dodge pickup and Hughes was the front passenger in the truck.
