Mayor Among Copper Theft Victims

When Rockville Mayor Phyllis Marcuccio awoke to a loud noise in the dead of the night on Nov. 21 she thought that an animal might have fallen off the roof.

The next morning she found the real source of the noise: An original downspout on the South Horners Lane home her father built in 1942 had been pried away from the house, stolen because it was made of copper.

Marcuccio’s experience, which she first recounted to NBC4, is one of 26 such instances of the theft of copper gutters and downspouts from homes in Bethesda, Potomac and Rockville since Nov. 1, .

The thefts have occurred at all hours and in some cases have been committed by men who claimed to be conducting work for a gutter company, the release said.

A late model beige, bronze or gold pickup truck has been seen at or near the site of several of the thefts, including in a victim's driveway.

Marcuccio said she replaced the stolen downspout with copper to keep it “consistent” with the rest of her home’s original gutter system.

The replacement cost—$200—underscores the profitability of the crime for thieves who resell the copper at recycling and scrap metal centers.

The lesson, Marcuccio said, is for residents and Neighborhood Watch groups to be vigilant about people who might bike or walk through neighborhoods looking for easy marks.

“The community needs to be very wary about people who case the joint,” she said. “You would not have known that gutter was relatively easy picking unless you really looked at it.”

Anyone with information about these incidents or the suspect or suspects is asked to call the Motngomery County Police Department's 1^st District Investigative Section at 240-773-6084 or the 2^nd District Investigative Section at 301-657-0112. 

Anyone who witnesses similar suspicious activity is asked to call the police non-emergency number at 301-279-8000.