Police Need Help Identifying Thief Who Stole Tanks Of 'Freon'
DENVER (CBS4) - Police need the public's help identifying a man they say stole a generator and two tanks of the gas refrigerant Freon from an auto repair shop in Denver.
The theft occurred on Friday, Sept. 16, at 11:55 p.m., according to a crime alert issued by the Metro Denver Crime Stoppers. Surveillance captured the suspect forcing his way into a storage container at Rice Enterprises at 4101 West 1st Avenue. The suspect left the area in a dark colored Chevy pickup truck with a white sticker or decal in the front window.
"We released the images today in hopes the public can help us to identify and locate this individual," said Doug Schepman, spokesman for Denver Police.
Different types of Freon are used in home, commercial, and auto cooling systems. Law enforcement in cities across the country have reported thefts of Freon by people looking to get high off the chemical.
In this case, police say they don't know why the suspect stole the items.
"We don't know if the items were stolen because that's what happened to be in the trailer that he broke into," Schepman said. "Or whether or not these were items he was specifically looking for."
Additional Information From The Denver Police Department
Remain anonymous and earn up to $2,000. Call Crime Stoppers at (720) 913-STOP (7867). Text to CRIMES (274637) then title DMCS and enter the message, or send an e-mail to metro-denvercrimestoppers.com; or use the Metro Denver Crime Stoppers mobile app which is immediately available as a free download on smartphones.
Lauren DiSpirito reports for CBS4 News at 10 p.m. She covers breaking news and feature stories along Colorado's Front Range. Follow her on Twitter @CBS4Lauren. Share your story ideas with her here.
