HOUSTON — Copper is what a north Harris County family said a thief was after when they hit their sprinkler system.
The homeowner said the thief was after the copper top, which is called the bell housing. This helps run the sprinkler system.
The homeowner also said the man doing the damage was dressed similarly to the suspect in a bizarre tree theft case KHOU 11 News covered just a few days ago.
The Bennett family hasn't even been in their north Harris County home for a year but said thieves have already welcomed them to the neighborhood.
"It's a copper top and then it comes with a little bell. It looks like a bell that's on top. That's pretty much it. They took from here and all he did was cut here and cut here," said Terrell Bennett.
The bell housing is part of the backflow valve, which operates the sprinkler system is gone.
Bennett works in landscaping and has experience with irrigation systems. He said you can't complete a crime like this in 30 seconds unless you know what you're doing.
"And not the thieves, So, yeah," Bennett said in response to being asked about adding wrapping around the pipes for the cold.
Bennett said the man in the red shirt with white writing first tried to shut off his electric box to stop the camera.
"I know he tried to cut off our electric box, but that didn't work. because the camera still rolled," he said.
The cameras then caught the man hammering off his neighbor’s bell housing. He figured his would also be missing.
"When I came home and I checked, I noticed he took both of them," he said.
Last Friday, KHOU 11 News reported a story of a man also in red stealing trees right out of the ground from a north Houston neighborhood.
It's left this family wondering if there's a ring of people targeting landscaping and landscaping items.
"The familiar of the red shirts you have to work at some company to understand. Just not a random person is going to take a bell housing off a backflow and don't know anything about it," Bennett said.
Bennett is hoping insurance will cover it and urges others to keep watch.
"I just recommend precaution your home cameras. Make sure cameras are working," he said.
The Harris County Sheriff's office is checking to see if there are other similar reports in the area. In the meantime, homeowners are urged to stay vigilant. If you see something unusual, call 911, or the Harris County Burglary and Theft number at 713-274-9200.