Hot Gold and Stolen Metal in the Crosshairs

Sarasota County Commissioners Tuesday afternoon passed a pair of ordinances to combat the sale of stolen scrap and valuables to second-hand dealers and recyclers.
“This is a huge problem, and people have suffered huge financial losses,” County Commission Chair Nora Patterson said.
It took more than a year of meetings and compromises between the two types of businesses, the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office and county staffers to come to common ground. Both ordinances passed unanimously.
The new regulations reflect an enormous upsurge in burglary and theft in Sarasota County. A two-week investigation in late July turned up more than 2,185 pounds of stolen scrap metal. Virtually every kind of metal outside has been stolen, including aluminum siding, wire from light poles, plumbing fittings and – especially – air

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