Police arrested two men they say tried to steal copper from an unoccupied building in North Miami Beach early Thursday morning.
The duo, identified as Michael Leyva and Luis Cacer, were able to get onto the roof of the building at 735 Northeast 167th Street where they broke a hole through the roof to get to the wire, police said.
A neighbor who heard the noise outside called police and alerted them of the burglary. When officers showed up, the suspects hid in the building's drop-down ceiling between some tiles, according to police.
North Miami Beach Police said canine officers were brought in to help find the suspects. Leyva was found quickly as he fell through the drop ceiling. Both were eventually taken into custody and Leyva was taken to Memorial Hospital – North for treatment for his shoulder injury. He has since been released into police custody.
Police said they believe the men have struck other businesses before.
"A lot of times we find that this is a group of people or a ring of people that go around burglarizing these businesses and stealing this copper because they get a lot of money for it on the street," said Police Captain Richard Rand. "We're going to see if we can connect any of the other crimes with these individuals."
Detectives said the men were caught with more than 1,000 pounds of the copper and metal wire which sells for about $3 per pound.
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Both were charged with burglary of an unoccupied structure and resisting an officer without violence and are being held on $6,000 bond.
