DECATUR — When burglars sneak into a house and tear out plumbing pipes and electrical wires, they gain a few dollars for themselves, while often destroying those buildings and creating community hazards.
“It’s amazing how much damage this causes,” said Deputy Chief James Chervinko of the Decatur Police Department’s patrol division. “We were experiencing a high level of residential burglaries, with thefts of copper, brass and aluminum, especially from empty houses.”
In some cases, the owners, who had intended to sell or rent out the houses, then walked away, because of the high cost of repairs and anxiety about future crimes.
“Then the buildings may be vacant for extended periods,” Chervinko said. “These vacant houses bring vagrancy, prostitution, drug abuse and more criminal damage.”
When the police stepped up their efforts to combat metal thefts in late 2010, they turned to Jason Derbort, a day shift patrol officer with 15 years’ experience.
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Derbort, 40, has been successful in tracking down and apprehending metal thieves. Since December 2010, he has made 29 arrests and helped obtain felony convictions in 14 of the cases. Other cases are pending. He won the 2011 Deputy Chief’s Award for his efforts.
“He has done an outstanding job,” Chervinko said. “These types of thefts are being reduced, but there’s still a problem. He’s a patrol officer, but also doing quite a bit of detective work. He’s making arrests, tracking down suspects, gathering evidence, interviewing suspects.”
Derbort said victims of metal theft sometimes complain that when pipes are stolen from their houses, especially those under construction, it has resulted in extensive water damage from water pouring through pipes attached to the missing ones.
A humble, friendly man, Derbort is an expert at creating positive working relationships with people on his beat. One reason he was selected for his new assignment is that Sol Tick Co., the largest metal recycler in Decatur, sits in his patrol district.
Derbort and Chervinko said that Sol Tick, which handles an enormous amount of metal every business day, has been very cooperative with law enforcement.
“They’ve worked with me quite a bit,” Derbort said, adding that they will cooperate at every stage of an investigation.
Officials of the company, just north of the 22nd Street overpass, have placed calls to Derbort on suspicious materials, such as a cut-up set of metal stairs from a fire escape.
When Derbort was informed about the fire escape, he searched through recent police reports and discovered it had been stolen. Because the company had recorded the identification of the man who sold that item, an arrest was made.
Derbort credits Sol Tick for reporting thefts such as this one, especially because the company loses the money it spent on the stolen goods, which are returned to their rightful owners.
Sometimes Derbort catches crooks while they still have their loot in their truck or van.
So many of the metal thieves automatically head to Sol Tick with their take, that Derbort sometimes heads directly for the recycler when he hears a call that someone just stole a water heater or a batch of gutters.
Experienced criminals like to trade in objects like copper pipe, because it is common and difficult to trace.
But amateurs tend to bring in anything they find which could bring a fast buck.
One woman thought it was her lucky day when the cross beam of a street lamp fell to the ground in the Wabash Crossing neighborhood. She loaded it into the trunk of her car and drove to Sol Tick.
Derbort happened to be at the scrap yard on other business at that time. He parked his vehicle next to hers as she waited in line in the scale house to receive $22 for the street lamp section. She drove off a short time later. Company employees informed Derbort of the transaction and the woman’s identity. The piece was valued at $900.
“I found her a few days later,” Derbort recalled. “At the jail, she said, ‘I can’t believe I’m going to jail for a street lamp.’ ”
In September, the 21-year-old woman pleaded guilty to felony theft of property over $500. She received a sentence of 24 months’ probation and was ordered to pay $900 restitution to the city, in addition to a $25 per month probation fee.
David Hicks, Sol Tick general manager, said almost all of the people his company trades with are honest people trying to make a living.
“The thieves are giving the hard-working guys a bad rap,” said Hicks, who is also regional manager of Mervis Industries, which owns Tick and other area scrap yards. “We do everything we can to catch these guys and stop them.”
With copper prices very high the past few years, the yard is accepting a lot of copper. If anything is suspicious in a transaction, Hicks gives Derbort a call. Hicks said Derbort’s response time to the company’s calls is “fantastic.” He credits the police department for giving metal thefts the attention they deserve, especially since late 2010.
“We have a great connection with the task force leader,” Hicks said.
