SAN ANTONIO — In less than a minute, two men cut a refrigerant line, stole an air conditioning unit and drove away.
This happened in the Greater Harmony Hills neighborhood on the north side.
Since KENS 5 first aired the story last week, we learned this was much more serious than just a petty crime.
Intentionally cutting a refrigerant line is violating federal law regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA.
Releasing the refrigerant chemicals is harmful to our environment.
Cutting the line, experts say, could also ruin the air conditioning unit itself because it lets moisture in.
"That was is probably the most brazen that I've seen," said William Weatherly about the Greater Harmony Hills theft, aired on KENS 5.
Weatherly is the the Chief Inspector for the State of Texas for Air Conditioning and Refrigeration.
"It's a dangerous situation because you're cutting high voltage line. They don't know how to shut the power off," Weatherly explained. "If it's the older refrigerant that we used to have, and a lot of homes still have, an R22, it's an ozone-depleting chemical. There can be fines up to $27,500 an incident or up to five years in jail."
On top of this being a blatant crime and EPA violation, Weatherly says the state legislature is making it tougher to resell the metals and copper inside.
"That's been a big crime that has really blown up in the last few years," he explained.
Weatherly says if you go to a scrapyard or recycler now, you must have proper identification and documentation for the AC unit. If you present false documents, that's a classic misdemeanor.
We asked the experts how you can protect your AC unit. Elmer Zubiate, Owner of Elmer's Air Conditioning & Plumbing, says you can start with a lock.
"You can put a lock here [pointing to the disconnect box]. If you don't put a lock, it's easy. You disconnect this, cut the wires and not get shocked. They know that. But if they can't pull this disconnect, if they don't have access to it, they probably don't want to steal it because it's going to shock them," said Zubiate.
You can also anchor down the unit to your concrete slab using screws you can find at any home improvement store.
"On these units, we also put screws in for free," said Zubiate. "If you call me, we'll send someone out there and they'll bolt it down to the slab at least."
A tight fence around the air conditioning unit isn't recommended. The unit needs to breathe to cool down.
A better alternative is a metal strap or a metal cage.
"We can't guarantee they're not going to take it, but we're going to make it a lot harder," said Zubiate.
Having security cameras, a geotag and motion censor lights can also help protect your property.
By the way, you could get paid to turn people in who are intentionally cutting refrigerant lines. The reward is up to $10,000. To report environmental violations, click here.
If you're seeking assistance bolting down your air conditioning unit to a concrete slab, Elmer's will provide the service free of charge. Call 210-333-5637 or visit Elmer.com to learn more.