The Hernando County Sheriff's Office wants to put a name to a face caught on camera outside a long-dormant cement plant in Brooksville, where someone has been cutting locks, stripping copper wire, and hauling items out of warehouses since the spring. The photo, taken on September 20, shows a person investigators believe is connected to a string of criminal-mischief incidents and commercial burglaries at the shuttered North Cemex facility at 16301 Ponce de Leon Boulevard.
According to the Hernando County Sheriff's Office, several gates on the property were breached after chains and locks were cut, giving whoever has been slipping onto the site repeated access. Copper wire was removed from multiple areas of the property, and various items were taken from the facility's warehouses, the agency says. The pattern of break-ins has played out sporadically since April, deputies say, suggesting the same person or people have returned to the site more than once over the past several months.
A Years-Old Target Sitting Empty
A dormant industrial site stacked with exposed wiring and unattended buildings is, unfortunately, a familiar draw for metal thieves. Florida isn't alone in dealing with the problem: in Oregon, the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office asked the public for help identifying the owner of a large spool of copper wire after two suspects were arrested for burglarizing a Happy Valley funeral home, according to KOIN. Copper theft has also hit shuttered public buildings elsewhere this year; The Press Democrat reported that vandals made off with roughly $250,000 worth of copper wire from a closed elementary school campus in Santa Rosa.
What Florida Law Says About Copper Theft
It remains unclear whether the alleged conduct at the North Cemex site would meet those specific statutory elements, and the sheriff's office has not said whether anyone has been arrested or charged in connection with the Brooksville incidents.
How to Submit a Tip
Anyone who recognizes the person in the September photo, or who has information about the break-ins at the North Cemex property, is encouraged to contact the Hernando County Sheriff's Office directly. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through Hernando County Crime Stoppers online, by calling 1-866-990-TIPS (8477), or by texting *TIPS from a cell phone. Tipsters who help identify a suspect may be eligible for a cash reward of up to $5,000, and their identities will remain anonymous throughout the process.
