Removed Light Switches to Steal Copper

And speaking of copper wiring thefts, another house sustained thousands of dollars in damages from someone who ripped open walls and ceilings just to get to the wiring.  The Wilkes County Sheriff’s Department investigated a report over the weekend of a residence on Longbottom Road.  The owner lives out of town and only uses the residence occasionally.  A man who oversees the property for the owner found that a window had been broken out.  Someone had gone inside the house and removed all the light switches and electrical outlets and then took the copper wiring out of the walls.  The ceiling in the upstairs bedrooms was torn down to gain access to more copper wiring.  Damages are estimated over 2000 dollars.  A Coleman camping heater valued at 100 dollars was also stolen in the break-in.  As 3WC News has already reported, a similar incident happened at the end of August at a house that was unoccupied and was in the process of being sold.  That house was located on Ridgewood Lane in Millers Creek and sustained over 20,000 in damages from someone ripping all the interior walls to steal the copper and electrical wiring.