Copper stolen from Habitat home causes thousands in damage

RACINE -- Theft of a small item leads to thousands of dollars in damage at a Habitat for Humanity home in Racine.

The Habitat for Humanity home was near completion. But over the holiday weekend, a thief struck. 

"There was water running in the basement, not a little bit. We had a ¾ inch pipe under pressure that had been going for days untold just filling everything," said Ted Swartz.

Swartz says there is thousands of dollars worth of damage -- and the thief only got away with a small amount of copper valued at about $2.

"That particular pipe maybe 25 -28 cents," said Swartz. "They took a pair of pliers with nippers on it and they clipped it."

Volunteers had been working on the home for a Racine family of four.

"It's disheartening to see it. There's so much want in the world. But we're the good guys,  what are you doing? We here to help not here to hinder and something like this is so mindless," said Swartz.

Instead of moving in soon, the repairs will keep the family of four waiting for a couple more months.