Nearly a ton of copper taken

Someone stole 1,600 pounds of copper - roughly the weight of a full-grown Holstein cow - from air conditioning units on the roof of an empty Linthicum warehouse.

While the copper they took was worth about $4,800, they left more than a quarter of a million dollars damage.

County police said thieves cut copper conditioning coils and related piping from eight of the 55 air-conditioning units atop the former Mercantile Bank and Trust building in the 700 block of Old Hammonds Ferry Road. Damage is estimated at $259,000.

Kevin Wade, whose company is renovating the building, told police he checked the computers running the air...