HAWTHORNE-  Sixteen different crimes, but all with one goal in mind... stealing copper.

 

 

The crimes all happened between Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning.

 

 

All the houses targeted in the Pleasant Gardens neighborhood in Hawthorne were vacant and owned by the Alachua County Housing Authority.

 

 

 

Once inside thieves went straight for water heaters with their tools to remove the copper.

 

 

That's where detectives say they think there is a connection between the method and the motive.    

 

 

Alachua County Sheriff's Detective, Eric Hutchinson says,"The cuts were clean they actually left some of the tools there that they actually cut the copper with."

 

 

Pleasant Gardens resident would like to see more officers in the neighborhood and better nightime lighting along the streets.

 

 

Detectives believe that these recent burglaries may be related to a similar theft at Straughn Farms over the weekend where sixteen-thousand dollars worth of copper was stolen.