NYPD: Man In Hard Hat Stole $900 In Copper From 14th Street Verizon Cell Tower

There's a copper thief on the loose in downtown Manhattan—and he used a hard hat to sneak his way onto a rooftop to steal it.

According to the NYPD, on September 30, at 10:30 a.m., a man "broke through a deadbolt lock and gained access to the roof of 110 West 14th Street. Once on the roof, the suspect removed twenty pounds of copper wire and two copper grounding plates valued at a total of $900 from a Verizon cellular tower at the location." The suspect then fled.

Surveillance images of the suspect were released, showing him in a white hard hat, a dark Nike t-shirt with a bright-color swoosh, tan pants and white footwear.

Copper thefts are not uncommon—for instance, subway service was compromised in May due to a "massive" copper theft—and there's some forecasting of a "tighter" copper market.

Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS. The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers Website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or texting their tips to 274637(CRIMES) then enter TIP577.