Two criminals are suspected of repeatedly stealing from a data center construction site in Culpeper County, Virginia.
On Facebook, the Culpeper Sheriff’s Office this week posted a notice seeking help in identifying two suspects involved in a series of thefts at a data center construction site in the Germanna Highway area of Culpeper County.
During the thefts, cameras captured two masked, gloved males. They appear to have worn the same clothing during two incidents.
According to the sheriff’s office, the first incident occurred overnight between September 22 and September 23, when suspects cut a padlock on the site’s front gate and removed a “large quantity” of copper piping valued at more than $200,000 from locked storage areas.
“Due to the size and weight of the material, investigators believe at least one large vehicle, or multiple vehicles, was used to remove it from the site,” the office said.
A second incident occurred overnight between October 18 and October 19, with the suspects cutting through the perimeter fence on the east side of the property, again cutting padlocks on storage areas, and this time stealing a large number of power tools.
A third theft occurred overnight between October 21 and October 22. Newly installed cameras recorded the suspects, who appear to be the same two individuals from the October 19 incident. Investigators believe they entered through the same cut in the fence.
“These are not random hits. The same two people have come back three times in a month, and they know how to get in and out,” said Sheriff Timothy Chilton “Someone recognizes these individuals or their clothing. We’re also asking anyone who has been offered copper or a large lot of power tools at an unusually low price to contact us.”
The data center site in question wasn’t shared. Stack has multiple buildings in development along Germanna Highway.
Three men were caught stealing copper wire from data center construction site in Loudoun County, Virginia, in August. In July, some $1.3m in copper cables and data center equipment were recovered by police in Illinois.
Copper cable thefts are common, often seeing whole communities brought offline as a result. Cell tower sites are also regular targets for thieves.
Detective Millson is the lead investigator on the Culpeper incident. Anyone with information should contact the Culpeper County Sheriff’s Office at (540) 727-7520 or by email at [email protected].
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