Posted on 08/04/2011 4:05:34 PM PDT by grundle
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - A 79-year-old Oak Cliff woman succumbs to the North Texas heat and dies in her home just two days after reporting to police that her central air conditioner had been stolen.
Dolores Grissom’s home sits on a corner with the air conditioning unit is completely exposed; only protected by a cage with a lock.
On July 14 Grissom reported that her $2,500 unit was stolen. On July 16 she was found dead. Just this week the Dallas County Medical Examiner’s Office completed their report that stated Grissom’s death was heat-related.
Grissom, who was buried last week, lived with her son and unfortunately this wasn’t the first time the home had been burglarized. On at least two other occasions, in previous years, the air condition was also the target of thieves.
Neighbor Caroline Ware, who is disabled, says she tried to help Grissom. “I’m sad she passed away,” said Ware. “I tried to get her and her son to come over here, but you know people like to stay home.”
Air conditioner theft seems to be a common problem in Oak Cliff. Thieves stole six units from a local church back in April.
Dallas police refuse to comment on the theft of Grissom’s a/c unit, but neighbor, Jesse Terrell, says that type crime happens every summer in the area and he believes the units wind up in local pawnshops.
“You don’t have to walk inside [pawnshops] to ask ‘em if they have them,” said Terrell. “You drive by it and they’re sitting right up front; central air conditioning units and regular window units.”
KRLD NewsRadio 1080 checked with a pawnshop on Corinth and 8th Street and although the store has at least five a/c units available for sale, the owner said he doesn’t deal with the public, and his units only come from demolition and corporate jobs.
Terrell claims that once police even caught some thieves as they carried a stolen unit down the street. DPD officials say there is no new information in the Grissom theft.
Grissom’s death brings the number of heat-related deaths in Dallas County up to 13. Currently, seven others are still under investigation. Tarrant and Collin County have each had one heat-related death.
I agree! Especially when it’s going to be in the upper 110 range for a least up through next Thursday here in DFW. A house with a new a/c isn’t worth much to a dead person.
And whoever buys the stolen unit or the copper from it is an accessory.
Have not had any problems since then, an attempt was made, but just to much trouble for them to try and cut through.
A wrought iron company made them. Another tip, if you have an alarm system, hook that alarm up to the unit or cages as well. The cages are set in a concrete slab, and one side is hinged to be able to work on the unit.
The first was the manager of the local Country Club. They had four A/C units stolen at the beginning of last month, had them replaced, and had the replacements stolen this past weekend. These were big, commercial units that are valued at a couple thousand a pop.
The second was a guy who'd just bought a farm and closed on it two weeks ago. Last week, when he was back in Arkansas getting his belongings, thieves swept in and stole the A/C units and tore all of the copper out of the house, barns, stables, and workshop. He was in getting a price list for his insurance company and didn't have it completed yet, but it looks like the thieves did over sixty thousand dollars worth of damage to his farm.
We have had a rash of these thefts in our state. Until the law makes it illegal for metal dealers to accept ANY metal such as this, the thefts will continue.
Sad to say, when stolen they will only get about may $100 from the metal, insurance will pay some to replace and you may be out for the differance. Very expensive to replace.
That is really sad and really mean! I hope the perps suffer in kind.
A young man was found dead just outside of a recently vacated apartment complex, stealing the copper.
OOPS, he cut the wrong wires, electrocuted himself, JUSTICE? His own father was the one who found him. oh well.
Kinda strange that the father knew exactly where to find his son, in that bad part of town and at night.
Kinda sad..............., just kinda.
My neighborhood is like that.
If a neighbor’s dog escapes, it gets put back in it’s yard or kept in your’s until it’s owner is back home.
I’ve got neighbors who are nutsy libs, but when you’ve fought a brush fire to save homes together, what bumper stickers you have just don’t matter quite so much.
You’re right. Taking a disabled person’s AC in the summer in TX is a death sentence. After the temp hits around 94-99 degrees, fans don’t work anymore since they act like a space heater rather which warms your internal core temperature than an air convector which cools down your internal air temp and you need an AC.
I say stick em in a room, heat it up to about 150 degrees and let them cook real nice.
Me too. Few here have air conditioning because the humidity is so low, but no one has ever stolen a swamp cooler in our town.
If she was like many elderly people (my mother for instance) she may not have been capable of seeing the problem or even imagining that there is a solution if she did.
I’ve never heard of anybody stealing an A.C. unit in my town. ‘Course, I don’t exactly live in Obamaville either.
That's the way it is in my town too, population 1,600. If my neighbor saw someone stealing my A.C. he'd probably shoot them and I'd shoot someone stealing his. It keeps thefts down to a minimum.
2nd degree murder.
Unfortunately, reading between the lines, I am sure that the odds of the victim having a record of the serial numbers (to have any hope of recovery, are between nil and non-existent. Perhaps armed guards need to be assigned at taxpayer expense to perform this simple function?
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