Witness Diligent in Reporting Yet Another Air Conditioner, Metal Theft

This time it was at a post office in Lutz, an incident that shows that there has been no letup in the theft of air conditioners and the copper metal inside, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.

“This is an opportunistic crime for people who are looking for a quick dollar,” said Cpl. Steve Billor, who over the summer worked with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office’s Metal Thefts Investigative Unit. The unit during its six-week summer stint netted more than 40 arrests.

“They get arrested and then they get bonded out and go back to doing what they know,” said Billor who cited the example of one suspect who was arrested three times in copper thefts. “We are now working on revoking his bond.”

Billor made his comments after release of a report today, Sept. 21, involving the U.S. Post Office in Lutz, at 18489 U.S. Highway 41 North.

There, at approximately 2 a.m. on Sept. 20, an eyewitness reported observing a man exiting a truck and walking over to the “building next to the air-conditioning unit.”

That witness’s quick thinking led to the arrests of two Lutz men, on charges of grand theft.

“The public should always call us when they see someone out of ordinary,” Billor said. “They know their neighborhoods better than we do. They know who does and doesn’t belong there. Instead of [just] thinking about it they should give us a call.”

As reported in the Lutz case, the witness made note of the truck’s license plate number and watched as the truck was being driven away, “with the air-conditioning unit in the bed of the truck, through the parking lot, then west on Sunset Lane.”

The truck was traced to the residence of its registered owner, Kevin Stage, who was seen in the driver’s seat; sitting in the passenger’s seat was Christopher Louis DiRosa, who was subsequently identified as the man observed by the witness, according to the report.

“Kevin [Wallace] Stage admitted to knowledge of the A/C theft by DiRosa and stated this is not the first time he has stolen A/C units,” according to the sheriff’s report.

The report notes, too, that Stage and DiRose “admitted that the items taken to the metal recycling facility were A/C parts.”

DiRosa, 34, and Stage, 41, both of 17203 Orangewood Drive in Lutz, were charged with grand theft.

While no one case is exactly the same, Billor said the majority of repeat offenders in the theft of copper are   looking for a quick fix.

“The majority of our repeat offenders in this crime are drug abusers,” he said.

The Lutz report noted that “upon a search of Stage’s truck, cocaine and drug paraphernalia” had ebeen located.

Billor’s advice to the public is to keep their eyes open and, if possible, keep areas around air conditioning units well lit.

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