A suspected thief was captured on camera ripping pieces of copper gutters from buildings in the French Quarter early Friday morning, according to New Orleans Police.
The suspect allegedly struck two different locations in a matter of minutes, stealing copper gutters from the sides of buildings on St. Louis and St. Phillip streets, incidents that were captured on surveillance camera footage released by the NOPD on Tuesday.
The first incident occurred at about 6:30 a.m. on Friday when the suspect was seen removing a copper gutter from a business in the 900 block of St. Louis Street.
Fifteen minutes later, the same person was seen again removing another copper gutter from the side of a building in the 600 block of St. Phillip Street.
Light scrap copper—which includes sheet copper, gutters and other unalloyed solids with at least 88% copper—fetches around $2 per pound in Louisiana, according to various indices.
Anyone with information on the incidents is asked to contact NOPD Eighth District detectives at 504-658-6080. Anonymous callers can contact Crimestoppers of Greater New Orleans at 504-822-1111 or toll-free at 877-903-7867.