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FAIRFIELD, Conn. A Bridgeport man has been charged with stealing air conditioner parts from a business last fall. Kenneth Jones, 46, allegedly dealt $40,000 worth of damage to a new building in September.
Police interviewed a suspect at the scene of the theft early on the morning of Sept. 11, but let him go. An officer saw a man driving around the Grasmere Avenue lot shared by Whole Foods and Chase Bank just before 5 that morning.
Officers found assorted scrap metal parts in the cars trunk. The suspect told police at the time that he had taken the metal parts from a nearby Dumpster, and was released without charges.
The next morning, the owner of 340 Grasmere Ave. told police that copper compressor coils were stolen from the air conditioners on the buildings roof. The cost to replace the units was estimated at $40,000.
Investigators found that 460 pounds of copper were sold for scrap nearby, matching the parts description. Fairfield police identified Jones, a trained air-conditioning technician, as the man who sold the scrap metal.
Jones turned himself in Tuesday at Fairfield police headquarters. He was charged with first-degree larceny and criminal mischief. He was released on a $20,000 bond and is due in court April 27.
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