UPDATED Thursday, March 18, 2010 --- 10:00 a.m.

Incident report from the Madison Police Department:

Incident Type:
Theft

Incident Date:
03/17/2010 - 8:10 AM

Address:
6001 Manufacturers Dr. (construction site)

Arrested:
Tyler H. Watson, age 27, no permanent address
Mr. Watson was arrested for a Probation Violation.

Tyler S. Pollock, age 19, no permanent address
Mr. Tyler Pollock was arrested for Possession of Burglarious Tools, and a Probation Violation.

Travis W. Pollock, age 19, no permanent address
Mr. Travis Pollock was arrested for Party To A Crime (PTAC) Entering a Locked Construction Site, PTAC Possession of Burglarious Tools, and PTAC Theft.

Details:
On Wednesday morning Madison Police were called to a fenced construction site in the 6000 block of Manufacturers Drive after workers discovered thieves had cut locks overnight and stolen tools, extension cords, and copper wire.

An electrician at the site found a electronic motel key near one of the gates, which was turned over to the MPD.

The responding officer, working in concert with several detectives, was able to trace the key to a room at the Select Inn, 4845 Hayes Road. The suspects were found inside, along with stacks of copper wire, extension cords, and numerous tools.

A victim of the Manufacturers Drive theft identified some items as belonging to his construction company.

Detectives working this case believe the suspects could be linked to other recent construction site thefts, although the extent to which they maybe culpable for other crimes is not known at this time.

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UPDATED: Tuesday, March 16, 2010 --- 8:41 p.m.
REPORTER: Chris Woodard

Thieves are caught in the act. Two people make a get away after raiding a construction site.

It's one of several copper thefts in the area that have contractors feeling helpless.

Surveillance video provides a rare glimpse into a maddening problem for Madison area contractors.

2 people jump a fence into a construction site and even a motion light isn't enough to scare them off.

They make their way inside a building under construction and actually pull down their hoods, apparently feeling pretty comfortable.

For the next hour and a half they roll up electrical cords, even using a ladder to pull some cords down from the ceiling.

They're interested in the copper inside the cords and eventually make their way out with load after load.

It's a problem contractors say is getting worse as copper prices go up and it's hitting one construction site after another.

Tyler Missall with Krupp General Contractors says, "It's very frustrating. It doubles my work load and I have better things to do than (replace cords) 3 or 4 times a week."

At a Krupp site on East Johnson thieves stole about 20 cords worth 130 dollars a piece. A building superintendent noticed Monday morning.

You can still see metal pieces sitting on the ground where someone cut a hole in the fence to get into the site.

Missall says, "It's not Fort Knox here. I guess if you really want to get in you'll do something to get in."

But these crews don't have much choice. They need to leave the cords out because they have equipment that needs to run overnight.

Missall says, "You can't do any work without extension cords in construction."

A few days earlier thieves hit a storage area on Sycamore Avenue and stole 8-thousand dollars worth of copper ground cable from a Michigan company.

Police say the motive in all of these cases is the same. Take the copper, sell it for scrap and hope to make a quick buck.

Police are still looking for suspects in all three of these cases so if you recognize someone in the surveillance video or have any information about the other thefts contact Madison Police.

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Posted Tuesday, March 16, 2010 --- 10:40 a.m.

Incident report from the Madison Police Department:

Incident Type:
Theft

Incident Date:
03/15/2010 - 10:48 AM

Address:
614 E. Johnson Street (construction site)

Details:
Monday morning, Madison Police responded to a construction site at 614 E. Johnson Street where a building superintendent for Krupp General Contractors wanted to report a theft of electrical cords. He explained thieves steal cords for the copper, which they sell for scrap. He said each cord is worth $130, and the scrap value of the copper in each is about $15.

In the past couple of weeks there have been multiple thefts from construction sites in the Madison area, with copper often being the target.

Last week, on March 9th, employees of a Michigan company, which is storing dewatering materials in the 4100 block of Sycamore Avenue, reported a theft where more than $8,000 worth of copper ground cable was taken.