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Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 20
Junior Member
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If the person was trespassing, does that prevent his family from bringing suit against the property owner? I wouldn't be surprised if this happened. Appauled but not surprised.
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 214
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sheesh guys, he's DEAD, he payed the ultimate price for (alleged) burglary. Also, this isn't your typical criminal scum, he was 41, a father, and he held a steady job. Not some young, unemployed punk looking for drug money.
I'd also like to point out that he wasn't stealing wire from a job, he wasn't stealing tools off of some guy's truck, it was an abandoned warehouse. Who knows, maybe he had some gambling debt, maybe he wanted drugs, maybe he wasn't able to pay off his morgage for that month, point is; we don't know, we can't even be sre he WAS stealing wire. So how about we go a little easier on the guy who's last moments were spent covered in horrible burns, and not pass judgement on some stranger, and say that they deserve to die, because of 473 words in one newspaper article.
-Will
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Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 8,443 Likes: 3
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I don't approve of stealing but I find it classless to speak ill of the dead.
No matter what the reason for this persons death his family likely loved him and will miss him.
I fully understand it was his own bad choices that caused his death.
However us condemning him for it after he was killed seems uncalled for and pointless.
Bob, I couldn't agree more, as stupid as this guys judgement was, he paid the ultimate price. We should not run him further into the ground with comments here.
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 5,445 Likes: 3
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I have looked, and I fail to find ANY personal attacks ... all comments have been directed toward the idiocy of the action, and the dangers those actions pose to others.
At the very least, some one had to get suited up, and expose themselves to the same hazards, just to remove the body.
Ann found an instance where an innocent person was stranded, and had to be rescued, following a similar incident. Nor can we overlook the sundry fires and equipment damage. Not to mention the cost, to the rest of us, of repairing / replacing the stuff.
When the theft occurs in the general distribution network, who knows what suffering occurs- and all to truly innocent people.
Shaking our heads in astonishment at the ridiculous extremes folks go to in order to kill themselves is the very basis of the "Darwin Awards." I hold that such ridicule does serve a useful purpose.
While many have sought martyrdom in the past, hoping to add glory to their names ... I can't recall anyone ever seeking death so he could be laughed at! The message that stealing wire is silly, will get you hurt, and all your friends will be laughing at your foolishness .... just might deter such acts.
The trouble is, every scoundrel - even Charles Manson - has a mother who thinks he's a good boy. Let's not let our sympathies be misguided, into making excuses or apologies for what was, at minimum, an antisocial act by a selfish person.
Moreover, this wire theft has got to be stopped. Our recent wildfire ... that destroyed 250+ homes ... was caused by someone who just couldn't refrain from making their campfire in an approved site. We have had several similar fires - fortunately stopped in time - started by folks trying to steal power lines.
These guys are not cute unfortunates who happened to goof. They are mad dogs, that simply must be stopped.
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Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 9,928 Likes: 34
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How does the fact that this was an empty building mitigate the theft in any way. When they steal the wire off your truck it is probably not occupied either. That doesn't mean you are not coming back nor does it mean you don't care about that wire.
I am just tired about hearing of these "victims" who commit crimes.
Greg Fretwell
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,429
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How about if we discuss ways to prevent this from happening again.
Think for a moment, most buildings of that type require their sprinkler systems to be maintained, some require power, and some use city pressure, but the ones that require power seem to present the hazzard, so if a sprinkler system has to be monitored for tampering, to maintain insurance on the structure, then why not require the electrical system to be monitored for any tampering?
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Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 9,928 Likes: 34
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It may have been monitored, that may be how they found this guy.
You keep saying this building was "abandoned". I bet the guy who owned the building didn't think that was true. Were the taxes being paid? Certainly he was still paying the electric bill.
Greg Fretwell
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Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 20
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Think for a moment, most buildings of that type require their sprinkler systems to be maintained, some require power, and some use city pressure, but the ones that require power seem to present the hazzard, so if a sprinkler system has to be monitored for tampering, to maintain insurance on the structure, then why not require the electrical system to be monitored for any tampering?
How about requiring people NOT to break into places and STEAL things? Oh....wait a minute. That IS already required. ***shakes head****
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Joined: May 2003
Posts: 2,876
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Without getting political (If that is at all possible???) desperation and a lack of education drives crime IMO. (This from a man who grew up in and around housing projects in and around Boston) Desperation because money is hard to come by, due to lack of opportunity due to lack of education.... It's kind of a cycle... What has changed in the last few years is the supply and demand of copper - something we are all well aware of... Why is the price of copper so high? Well it seems some jerk in the Dept. of the Interior made an announcement that "1/2 the worlds copper has been mined - and we will run out in the year 2020." This was ONE guy's opinion, and had little science to back him up on it, but that type of wording hit the stock market the next day... Then there was (and I believe still is) a workers strike on copper nearly coinciding with that news. And then China is needing more to make the things that they sell to us.... The list goes on and on. How do you get copper theft to stop? Three things that are nearly impossible to do: 1.) Drop the price of copper in much the same way we manipulate the price of oil. By dictating supply and demand. 2.)Raise general wages to the point where people have a living wage, and it is more profitable and easier to make a decent living in a decent way, as opposed to crime. 3.)Change the acceptance of people patronizing places that are embarrassing to work in that do not provide quality products anyway. Those types of places only serve to enslave their workers to low pay and benefit. But they have become the "American Day-Dream"... 'One day you too can own your own corporate sponsored franchise - give us your profit, and if you keep wages low you might make some money yourself - maybe?' BTW Dare I say it, here's another one... http://www.mercurynews.com/crime/ci_6299923And an iteresting news story on it (Hit "listen") http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6073433
Mark Heller
"Well - I oughta....." -Jackie Gleason
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Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 404
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I've heard that the cost of metal is associated with both an increase in mining costs, and demand associated with the industrial/building boom in Asia.
I've had $2000 worth of 2/0 SOOW feeder stolen from a building, where it was left unattended for 6 hours. Now, I always make sure it's locked up or hidden thoroughly--and don't trust custodial staff. Find your own spot.
A friend of mine works for the Bureau of Environmental Services (sewer company), and they routinely have feeder cable stolen from their backup generators at pump stations, which are fenced off with razor wire. The connections are inside locked compartments, but the thieves just cut the cable. This not only costs the department money to replace the cable, but can be a serious issue when the pumps don't run during a power failure, and you've got @#$% overflowing into the street/creek/neighbor's basement.
TBH, I don't care what your circumstance is; if you die as a result of stealing something, you're well deserving of that fate. We've got too many idiots as it is.
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Posts: 8,443
Joined: July 2002
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