of A growing crime is causing concern in Roanoke and across Southwest Virginia: thieves are stealing copper at rates not seen before, leaving behind costly damage and frustration for property owners.
10 News Community Journalist Bella Walser recently spoke with a local property owner who says thieves broke into a vacant home in a Roanoke City neighborhood and stripped it of copper pipes. Police say it can take just minutes for copper to be stolen, but the damage left behind can take days or even weeks to repair.
Walser was able to go to the home where the crime took place and see the aftermath. The water had been running for days under the house after thieves took the copper pipes, leaving behind hundreds of dollars in damage…