Neighbors catch Cape Coral plywood thief red-handed

CAPE CORAL, Fla. – One man’s attempt to steal plywood from a home construction site, didn’t go so well after being caught by a couple driving by.

“We know it’s a hot commodity right now plywood’s like Gold!” said Debbie Cooper.

Cooper and her husband Mike were driving down Surfside & Beach Parkway when they said they noticed a man loading this tan pickup truck with plywood from a home being built.

After confronting the man, the guy in the truck told the couple he was taking it to another job to build a pool. 

But the Coopers weren’t believing his story…

“He was trying to backpedal, trying to come up with excuses and we just weren’t buying it,” said Cooper.

It’s a serious problem facing many contractors in our community.

“It’s difficult to have people stealing. So, my recommendation is neighbors we have to join together because it’s basically us vs them,” said Lenny Klausner, owner of Competent Contractors Inc.

The price of plywood has done up 250% over the past year causing thieves to try to come up with the valuable materials.

Contractors in our community are warning residents to be aware of these type of thieves.

“At least grab their license plate number and if you can take a video, most everyone has phones so take a video of it and hopefully they can be brought to justice,” said Klausner.

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