Copper thefts costing North Little Rock thousands of dollars

NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Officials said a string of copper thefts in North Little Rock is costing the city thousands of dollars.

From campsites to streetlights and now even an elementary school, the thefts are leaving wires exposed and causing significant damage.

Not only is this a safety hazard, but NLR Electric Department Administrative Services Director Keith McCourt said it’s also costly.

“Dickey Stephens alone is probably going to be 40, 50,000 dollars” McCourt said.

Elementary school supervisor Jessica Miller said she had personally experienced an attempted copper theft at Horizon Day Treatment. Miller said a thief set up on the outside of the school but was unable to steal any copper before she came out and saw the damage.

“They’d even gone up on top of the roof, separated everything, so they were ready to come back,” Miller said. “I was told by the electrician to come pull it.”

Miller said even without the copper being stolen from the school, the repairs will cost thousands.

The city of North Little Rock is offering a $2,500 reward for information leading to an arrest made for the copper thefts.

Anyone with information is asked to call the North Little Rock Police tip line at 501-680-8439.

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