Man arrested in air conditioning vandalism; believed to have caused $50K in damages

A former Greenfield resident has been arrested for allegedly causing an estimated $50,000 in damages to homes and businesses by stealing copper wiring from air conditioning units. 

John Brown, 29, of Waverly, who previously lived in Greenfield, according to Greenfield Police Chief Tim Hester, was charged with felony vandalism and resisting arrest after a police officer allegedly caught Brown "while he was harvesting copper and metals from inside the coils of an outdoor air conditioning unit" outside a business in the 300 block of Jefferson Street. 

The GPD was alerted to the incident by a call from a concerned citizen.

"He was arrested on Saturday at 11:06 p.m. after we received a report from a citizen who observed a suspicious person (outside the business)," Hester said. "The officer responded on foot and caught him in the act of cutting an air conditioning unit. He resisted arrest and had to be forcibly apprehended."

Greenfield County Court Judge Robert Judkins has recused himself from hearing the case because the air conditioning unit of his law office, located in the 300 block of Jeffereson Street, was also vandalized Saturday.

"After (Brown) was taken into custody it was found that an air conditioning unit at the Judkins and Hayes Law Office was damaged and copper was removed from it," Hester said. 

Judkins recused himself from the case and scheduled a hearing for next Monday so that another judge can hear the case, according to Hester. 

Hester said they believe Brown may have been responsible for more than a dozen similar incidents in the Greenfield area, and that they are investigating the possibility that he may have had an accomplice. 

"We're obtaining search warrants to search other items and things to determine (if another person was involved)," Hester said. "We've had over a dozen units in the last three months that have been damaged. I would estimate there has been in excess of $50,000 in damages to these units, combined residential and commercial, that we believe he is responsible for. In addition to the evidence that we collected (Saturday), we have collected evidence from our previous contact with him, and we're waiting for BCI (Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation) analyses. Once we get everything from BCI and are able to determine if he was responsible for several other units, he will be charged with that as well. We anticipate taking the entire case to the grand jury at some point in the near future." 

Brown is currently being held in the Greenfield jail and should be transferred to the Highland County Justice Center later this week. 

"I really appreciate the citizen who gave us the call," Hester said. "That is exactly how it should be done and what the people out there should do. That's what solved this case for us. Considering the amount of damage that has been caused, this was a serious case for the people of this town. It was very fortunate that someone was alert, and we were able to take him into custody."