It’s become an all too common occurrence in Selma to hear about someone damaging an air conditioning unit worth thousands of dollars for the copper inside, but seldom are the thieves caught red handed in the act of the crime.

But that was exactly the case on Saturday, as Selma Police arrested Marcus Alexander, 20, and Trevarious Moore, 19, as they were caught in the act of stealing copper from an air conditioning unit in the 1900 block of Mabry Street.

Selma Chief of Police William T. Riley said it was a tip from a concerned citizen that helped two police officers apprehend the perpetrators of the crime, which at occurred at 10:35 a.m. that day.

“A concerned citizen wanted to remain anonymous when they called, but they let officers know that something was going on behind the building,” Riley said. “When the officers arrived on the scene, officers observed two black males that were later identified as a Marcus Alexander and a Trevarious Moore. They were attempting to steal an air conditioning unit. The examination of the unit found that the coils on the unit had been damaged and the copper tubing had been cut. The officers observed both suspects with tools in their hands doing the damage to the unit.”

Riley said Moore attempted to flee once officers arrived, but was quickly apprehended.

Both Moore and Alexander were charged with criminal mischief 1st, trespassing 2nd and possession of burglary tools, and both are being held at the Dallas County Jail on $66,000 bond each.

Riley said he’s pleased that a concerned citizen alerted police once they discovered the suspicious activity, and he’s hoping it’s a trend that continues.

“We’re very glad that the concerned citizen called us and it worked great calling us, us getting officers in the area as soon as possible, catching them red handed damaging the unit,” Riley said. “It’s sad, these guys at a young age out here damaging and hurting our city like this. As long as concerned citizens work with us, it will help keep the city safe.”

And while state laws have been passed to make it more difficult to sell metals like copper, which are often stolen from air conditioning units, Riley said combating the crime is an ongoing process.

“The state legislature has put new laws in place to help us deal with copper theft, but yet some people are still going out here and getting involved in it,” Riley said. “The new regulations will help track who’s coming in, what are they bringing, and that will help us as a law enforcement agency because one of the things we’re going to be going back and doing anyhow is double checking to see if these guys have been to any of our local area places and sold any metal. It’s an ongoing process.”