Attempted copper thieves drain business for several Indio shops
Kerry Anderson is the owner of the new Sip Coffeehouse and Juice Bar in Indio, which was formerly It’s a Grind. She said thieves tried to take the copper water valves in the back of the complex, but didn’t.
Instead they broke a few pipes and shut off water supply to 75 percent of the Heritage Court shopping center on Jefferson St. and Fred Waring.
“They destroyed two of the three water valves,” said Anderson.
The shopping center’s parking lot was mostly empty Saturday. Businesses had to turn away customers because they had no water.
“We’ve had to turn away hundreds of people this morning. Because we can’t brew coffee, we can’t wash dishes. We’re stuck,” said Anderson.
Sip makes 80 percent of it’s profit in the morning when people are looking for a cup of joe.
Next door at Best City Nails, the chairs were empty and manicure and pedicure appointments were canceled.
Subway, a dry cleaners, Fantastic Sams lost out on business during the water outage.
“It’s not fair that we are suffering because someone else decided to destroy something,” Anderson said.
The landowner is putting cages over the new pipes and valves, and will review security footage in hopes of finding the culprit.
We’ve been following copper theft incidents across the Coachella Valley throughout the year. Plumbers have told us in the past that the copper valves are often ground to pieces and recycled for about $15.
If you have any information about the suspects who tried to steal the pipes, call Valley Crimestoppers at 760-341-STOP. You can remain anonymous and could be eligible for a $1,000 reward.
