Copper theft turns deadly?
Man falls 30 feet to death through skylight
Glenn Kahl
Reporter
A building in Manteca's Industrial Park that has been a magnet for copper thefts to the tune of $250,000 claimed its first victim Thursday morning.
Nicolas Grandmaison, 27, crashed through the rooftop skylight at the abandoned Turnkey Solutions electronics building falling some 30 feet to his death. The mishap happened sometime before 8 a.m. when a workman found the man's lifeless body in the lobby of the building at 400 Industrial Park Drive.
Manteca Police said the victim was found in possession of burglary tools. Police stressed, though, that they do not know if he was there with the intent to steal copper. He was, however, trespassing.
Two workers at the site said they were busy clearing the roof and the interior of the building of debris to make way for construction of offices at the site. One of the workers had walked around to the front of the building to use the front door for access to the roof.
Fire medics and ambulance personnel responded to the scene at 8:13 a.m. when the call came into the police dispatcher that a man had fallen through the roof. Police stretched yellow tap across the entry of the building declaring it a crime scene under investigation. It was later determined that the death was probably accidental. Officers located a bicycle parked next to the building and were attempting to determine if it belonged to the victim.
The workmen said that transients had been using trees to the west of the facility to climb on the roof where they found one Manteca transient earlier in the month hiding in a rooftop air conditioner's duct work. When they called officers he jumped from the roof and ran towards South Main Street where officers arrested him.
Another man had entered the building several months ago and after stripping wire had hidden from officers in the attic above the second floor executive lobby area. Officers could not locate him however officer Grant Flory's canine "Spike" caught the scent and attempted to climb the wall below where the man was hiding.
One night last year two men were caught in the building with rolls of wire stacked up by the back door. There was no Manteca canine available so officers called on the Sheriff's Department for mutual aid with two of their canines.
Two men came to the back door after deputies said they would send in their dogs - but one ran back inside. He was taken down by one of the dogs before he was put onto a stretcher and taken to an area hospital for dog bites after he reportedly tried to fight with the dog.
The trees that were providing access to the roof were being cut down later Thursday to prevent others from climbing onto the roof of the building.
The San Joaquin County Coroner responded to the scene to continue the investigation.
Police have expressed concern for the past several years that the increasingly bold theft of copper and other precious materials could have tragic consequences.
Copper had been ripped, for example, from live lines going to roof top air conditioning units as well as from power poles.
There are several incidents of copper wiring being stripped from railroad crossing arms. In one such incident, the thief was trying steal the wire while police and railroad security were nearby conducting a crackdown on people who were driving through the same cross arms when they were down and flashing.
Contractors have modified how they go about doing business in Manteca. Traffic signals are now installed with the wires put in place and capped the same day they go up to a void the copper from being stolen. It usually is a two-day effort but contractors now figure it is cheaper to pay overtime than run the risk of damage.
Copper theft is also rampant on irrigation pumps and from other farm equipment.
The Manteca a City Council recently took steps to wok with other jurisdictions to put in place a uniform metal recycling ordinance in a bid to take away the ability for thieves to recycle stolen metals with relative ease.
Man falls 30 feet to death through skylight
Glenn Kahl
Reporter
A building in Manteca's Industrial Park that has been a magnet for copper thefts to the tune of $250,000 claimed its first victim Thursday morning.
Nicolas Grandmaison, 27, crashed through the rooftop skylight at the abandoned Turnkey Solutions electronics building falling some 30 feet to his death. The mishap happened sometime before 8 a.m. when a workman found the man's lifeless body in the lobby of the building at 400 Industrial Park Drive.
Manteca Police said the victim was found in possession of burglary tools. Police stressed, though, that they do not know if he was there with the intent to steal copper. He was, however, trespassing.
Two workers at the site said they were busy clearing the roof and the interior of the building of debris to make way for construction of offices at the site. One of the workers had walked around to the front of the building to use the front door for access to the roof.
Fire medics and ambulance personnel responded to the scene at 8:13 a.m. when the call came into the police dispatcher that a man had fallen through the roof. Police stretched yellow tap across the entry of the building declaring it a crime scene under investigation. It was later determined that the death was probably accidental. Officers located a bicycle parked next to the building and were attempting to determine if it belonged to the victim.
The workmen said that transients had been using trees to the west of the facility to climb on the roof where they found one Manteca transient earlier in the month hiding in a rooftop air conditioner's duct work. When they called officers he jumped from the roof and ran towards South Main Street where officers arrested him.
Another man had entered the building several months ago and after stripping wire had hidden from officers in the attic above the second floor executive lobby area. Officers could not locate him however officer Grant Flory's canine "Spike" caught the scent and attempted to climb the wall below where the man was hiding.
One night last year two men were caught in the building with rolls of wire stacked up by the back door. There was no Manteca canine available so officers called on the Sheriff's Department for mutual aid with two of their canines.
Two men came to the back door after deputies said they would send in their dogs - but one ran back inside. He was taken down by one of the dogs before he was put onto a stretcher and taken to an area hospital for dog bites after he reportedly tried to fight with the dog.
The trees that were providing access to the roof were being cut down later Thursday to prevent others from climbing onto the roof of the building.
The San Joaquin County Coroner responded to the scene to continue the investigation.
Police have expressed concern for the past several years that the increasingly bold theft of copper and other precious materials could have tragic consequences.
Copper had been ripped, for example, from live lines going to roof top air conditioning units as well as from power poles.
There are several incidents of copper wiring being stripped from railroad crossing arms. In one such incident, the thief was trying steal the wire while police and railroad security were nearby conducting a crackdown on people who were driving through the same cross arms when they were down and flashing.
Contractors have modified how they go about doing business in Manteca. Traffic signals are now installed with the wires put in place and capped the same day they go up to a void the copper from being stolen. It usually is a two-day effort but contractors now figure it is cheaper to pay overtime than run the risk of damage.
Copper theft is also rampant on irrigation pumps and from other farm equipment.
The Manteca a City Council recently took steps to wok with other jurisdictions to put in place a uniform metal recycling ordinance in a bid to take away the ability for thieves to recycle stolen metals with relative ease.
