A Norcross man has landed himself in hot water after being nabbed by cops with a haul of copper pipe, believed to be pilfered from local townhomes in the throes of construction, according to police. The suspect, Carlos Banos Herrera, 24, is facing a slew of charges including 11 counts of burglary, not to mention driving blunders like unsafe lane change and hitting the road without a license, as the Gwinnett County Police Department told FOX 5 Atlanta.

Gwinnett officers had their radars up and patrols dialed to high in the Fern Ridge Court area following reports of break-ins and thefts of HVAC pipes; it was during this vigilant watch that police got an eyeful of a dodgy vehicle on surveillance prior to the unscheduled property withdrawals, and it didn't take Sherlock to connect the dots when the same ride tripped the wires of a Flock camera, police got the drop on the suspicious car and Herrera was caught red-handed—or should we say copper-handed, inside was found a trove of copper pipe that made its way back to its rightful place at the construction site, police detailed in their report.

The eagle-eyed officers had previously eyed suspicious activity captured on camera—an essential piece of the puzzle that pinged on their radar, with Cpl. Ryan Winderweedle noting, “The reporting officer was able to get video footage of a suspicious vehicle in the neighborhood prior to the burglaries,” and with the Flock technology's assist, alerts went out among officers for a lookout on that vehicle, as recounted to the Gwinnett Daily Post.

Making the pinch didn't require a drawn-out manhunt; police pulled over the vehicle notching a win for crime prevention, found inside the vehicle was not only Herrera but also "a large amount of copper pipe," sealing the fate of the 24-year-old who was subsequently clapped in irons and carted off to Gwinnett County Jail without a chance at bond—a swift end to a spate of thefts that briefly cast a shadow over the bones of those townhomes taking shape in Fern Ridge Court.

As for the liberated metalwork, the police didn't waste any time; they trucked the copper pipes back to their construction site home where workers could once again ply their trade, unencumbered by the pilfering hands of any who would seek to dismantle their day's labor, Cpl. Winderweedle explained, ensuring no missing piece would be left untended in the wake of justice served.