By Lynette Norris
Greene Publishing, Inc.
Some time during the early morning hours of Friday, May 13, burglars tore off the rear metal door of Madison Metals and hauled off about five or six thousand dollars worth of scrap metal, mostly copper, said owner Johnny Crosby. Then they set fire to the premises to cover up the burglary.
Crosby, who arrived on the scene shortly after the incident occurred, spoke about it late Friday afternoon, saying that he still had a yard full of law enforcement officers and vehicles investigators looking everything over.
“I’ve been hit about six times in the two or three years since I’ve been here,” said Crosby, adding that locks had been cut off various doors and windows and sections of exterior walls taken out to gain entry. This time, however, the perpetrators literally tore the back door off. “They’ve come in about which way you can come in, except through the roof, and I reckon that’s next.”
The perpetrators were caught on video surveillance cameras and spent about two hours hauling an estimated one thousand pounds of metal out of the building and loading it onto a truck, whose headlights were caught on video just outside the fence. Investigators are looking for at least two suspects, and one vehicle.
In addition to the loss of the metal, Crosby estimated the damage from the arson at between $40,000 and $50,000. He lost a good amount of his tools, equipment and interior furnishings in the blaze, which was started in the office. The metal structure building itself is still standing, but the interior will have to be rebuilt and the all the wiring redone.
Crosby asks that anyone with information regarding the burglary and fire please contact Madison Metal at 973-4171 or the Madison County Sheriff’s Office at 973-4001. Crosby is offering a reward of $1000 for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible.
Still, Crosby says he does not feel very hopeful. “I’ve been hit before and they ain’t arrested anybody yet.”
