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Posted on Mon, Sep 19, 2011 : 12:52 p.m.

Chelsea police investigating 9 missing sewer grates that are believed stolen

By Kyle Feldscher

Chelsea police are investigating the thefts of at least 9 sewer grate thefts that occurred over the weekend, police Chief Ed Toth said.

Manhole.jpg

A motorist drives by a manhole missing its cover in Flint.

Flint Journal photo

The city’s Department of Public Works is going throughout the city today to find out exactly how many sewer grates had been taken, Toth said. Most of the grates had been taken off of Hickory Street and Chestnut Street, but grates also had been taken off of East Street.

Toth said the grates had likely been stolen for scrap metal — each weighs about 80 pounds and is cast iron.

“These grates are about 80 pounds a piece and area cast iron, so people take them to scrap yards,” Toth said. “It’s usually people who are engaged in illegal behavior.”

The sewer grate thefts follow a rash of incidents where police believe items were stolen for scrap metal. Manhole covers have been taken off of the streets of Ann Arbor and Dexter Township, aluminum siding has been stripped off of the Liberty Square apartments in Ypsilanti Township, and there was an attempted theft of steel racking from Fingerle Lumber in Ann Arbor.

Toth said he wasn’t sure exactly how much the sewer grates would be worth on the scrap metal market. The crimes are most likely occurring in the evening at night and likely involve a vehicle, because of the heavy weight of each grate, Toth said.

The public should be on the lookout for anyone who might be working on a sewer grate and is not wearing a fluorescent green jacket and driving a city of Chelsea truck, Toth said. Walkers and bikers in the areas affected by the thefts should use caution, he said.

Anyone with information on the thefts can call the Chelsea Police Tip Line at 734-475-9122 extension 5, or press 1 to speak with a dispatcher.

Kyle Feldscher covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.

Comments

clownfish

Tue, Sep 20, 2011 : 12:59 p.m.

Macabre for county sheriff! He has all the answers to all of our problems. Can't wait to see his name on upcoming ballots.

nixon41

Tue, Sep 20, 2011 : 12:23 p.m.

YA think? How else would they disappear?

Macabre Sunset

Mon, Sep 19, 2011 : 9:33 p.m.

Lots of brilliant writing and police work here. The police suspect that the criminals are using a vehicle, and not carting the 80-pound grates off on foot. I guess they no longer suspect a gang of miscreant weightlifters. And the investigation includes a theft of other thefts. What does this mean? Was the police station itself robbed by a person seeking to recycle paper?

racerx

Mon, Sep 19, 2011 : 8:17 p.m.

"...are believe stolen" Really? Are you sure they just didn't walk off on their own?

WalkingJoe

Mon, Sep 19, 2011 : 7:59 p.m.

"It's usually people who are engaged in illegal behavior." Ya think? No wait, I've got, maybe it was another municipality taking them to save money on their budget.

Eileen

Mon, Sep 19, 2011 : 5:56 p.m.

This is one crime that's ridiculously easy to resolve: if there was no market for stolen scrap metal, thieves wouldn't bother stealing it. Scrap metal dealers should not be allowed to buy these items. No market, no theft. This is not a difficult concept.

Macabre Sunset

Mon, Sep 19, 2011 : 9:30 p.m.

They need to take a look at what they're buying. This will mean additional work, obviously. But right now the scrap metal dealers are freeloading off the public by not doing their due diligence.

RuralMom

Mon, Sep 19, 2011 : 6:12 p.m.

The problem with your idea is that the sewer grates are probably hidden in the bottom of a load of general scrap metal. So the scrap yard doesn't immediately see it. They weigh the vehicle, dump the scrap and then reweigh, the difference is the amount of pounds they pay on. I truly hope you are not saying no scrap metal recycling at all!

Buster W.

Mon, Sep 19, 2011 : 6:06 p.m.

Maybe it's the dealers (and no middleman)???

John A2

Mon, Sep 19, 2011 : 5:27 p.m.

It is illegal behavior, and I think you meant that it could be drug addicts who are doing this. In these troubled times, it could be anyone of us whether or not they are unemployed. Just because you don't have a label of unemployment, don't mean you make enough to feed and house you and/or your family.

Buster W.

Mon, Sep 19, 2011 : 5:20 p.m.

"It's usually people who are engaged in illegal behavior." Usually???