A Schuylkill County man will spend at least the next nine months in state prison for stealing an HVAC unit from the roof of a commercial building earlier this year.
Michael Brown, 44, of Auburn, told Schuylkill County Judge Christina Hale he stole the unit and some copper wiring to “keep everything the same for the kids” while he was between jobs.
Hale told Brown the story he told at his sentencing on Friday “makes no sense” and agreed with Schuylkill County District Attorney Mike O’Pake that he was likely stealing the unit to get drug money, citing his numerous arrests and time served on drug charges.
“Parents can support their kids in other ways than stealing HVAC,” Hale said while imposing a state prison sentence of 9-24 months plus 5 years of probation.
Brown was arrested in February after State Police say he stole an entire commercial HVAC unit and stripped copper wiring from others at a business complex on Route 61 in West Brunswick Township. Police say the thefts happened over several days and left the building without heat or electricity.
The investigation began Feb. 6, when problems with the building’s heat and power were discovered. Police say the HVAC unit for one office suite had been damaged and its cables stolen. By the next evening, the HVAC unit for a second suite was gone entirely.
Surveillance footage from the area showed a black SUV and a silver or gold SUV near the property around the times of the thefts, police say.
On Feb. 8, the property owner was watching a live feed from her security cameras when she saw a silver SUV park behind the building, according to police. She told police she watched a man get out, take red bolt cutters from the trunk, and walk toward the building. She said she then saw sparks flying on the camera feed as the man cut the cables to a third HVAC unit.
Troopers staked out the property early the next morning. A little before 6 a.m. on Feb. 9, police say they watched a silver Kia Sportage turn onto a dirt road behind the complex. When troopers walked up to the parked vehicle, they identified Brown as the driver.
Brown told police he was waiting for a relative to pick him up for work, police say. Troopers said they could see red and black bolt cutters in the trunk area, and they took him into custody.
A search of the vehicle turned up wire-cutting tools and a cut galvanized coupling with a brass pipe, police say. Troopers then searched outside a home on Rocky Road and found more bolt cutters and a bucket with burn residue and stripped copper wire, according to police.
Police say Brown admitted going to a local scrap metal business on Feb. 7. Employees there told police Brown sold what appeared to be HVAC parts for $83.70 that day.
Brown recently agreed to plead guilty to felony charges of criminal mischief and theft by unlawful taking. At his sentencing, Brown owned up to the crimes and said, “I didn’t have any income and I’m the sole provider of the house. I know it was wrong.”
His attorney, Public Defender Nicholas Watt, told Hale that his client’s crimes were the result of “economic duress” and that Brown was facing a “degree of extremis” at the time.
Brown told Hale he’d just left a job to start a better-paying position. But his story about employment changed slightly as the hearing moved forward. He said he’d left but then said he’d been laid off. There was a three-week period when he had no work and no money coming in to the house, he said.
“I was at a hard spot. I know it was wrong. It’s overwhelming at times,” Brown told Hale about the pressure he was under at the time.
“So you felt the need to steal and damage the HVAC of a business,” Hale asked.
He added that he’s since covered the $2,000 insurance deductible to the business that was forced to close for several days because of the theft.
O’Pake, in arguing for jail time for Brown as opposed to the house arrest that Watt had asked the judge to impose, told Hale that he believed Brown used the $83.70 to purchase drugs.
“This was a planned and deliberate attack on the business,” he said. “This is a prime example of the scourge that drugs have on our society. I don’t think it’s a leap of faith to believed he was going to buy drugs.”
He said that despite the $2,000 Brown has repaid, he still owes $22,000 to compensate for the entirety of the damages.
While O’Pake made his argument about the scrap money being used to buy drugs, Brown attempted to interject but was admonished by Hale for speaking out of order.
Hale told Brown that she did appreciate him taking responsibility for the theft but agreed that jail time was appropriate.
“Just because a crime is non-violent doesn’t mean it’s not serious,” she said. “You, of all people, should know there are consequences to crimes. You know how it works.”
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