I don't know if the issue is as prolific in LA as it is here in Florida, but we're experiencing a huge number of thefts of air-conditioning "cores". The thief h

I don't know if the issue is as prolific in LA as it is here in Florida, but we're experiencing a huge number of thefts of air-conditioning "cores". The thief hits a sub-division that is largely vacant, pops the top off the A/C system, cuts the tubing and removes the largely-copper condenser coil. The thief then sells a truck load of these cores to a scrapyard for around $100 each. The owner of the unit is faced with a couple thousand dollars in repair bills. Thieves in this area have honed their core-lifting skills on unoccupied residential areas, and have moved on to hitting commercial properties late at night when no one is around to hear them. There were 7 homes hit in our neighborhood in the last 3 months, and at least one commercial business that made the papers because of the exorbitant cost of replacement ($15k). There's a lot of pressure growing to enact policies that make it harder to traffic in the stolen materials, as well as providing a means to track down the sellers. This smells like the same thing.