Tampa Investigator Searches Scrap Yards for Clues

TAMPA, Fla. -- Like any hunter, Dan Hinsz enjoys showing off his trophies.

Atop the bookcase in his cramped office rests a lead-acid car battery. Nearby sits a jagged-edged crescent of bright metal torn from an old MRI machine. One corner of his desk is home to a half-dozen threaded brass caps the size of a large man's palm.

Hinsz's latest prize hangs at eye level on his bulletin board. It's the mugshot of William Bohanan, 31, alleged thief.

"This man's been eating me up since October," said Hinsz, Tampa's lead investigator in the exploding field of metal theft.

Over the last 15 weeks, Hinsz said, the Lakeland man pilfered hundreds of the caps from hotels and parking garages from St. Pete Beach to Lakeland. The caps seal standpipes -- large plumbing fixtures dedicated to firefighters, commonly found in big buildings and parking garages.

Hinsz said Bohanan told him he made thousands of dollars selling them to fuel his Oxycontin habit.

"It went from these things never being stolen to every day we were getting reports," Hinsz said.

Bohanan's luck ran out in Lakeland last week when he tried to sell more standpipe caps for quick cash, Hinsz said.

As of Tuesday, Bohanan faced 92 theft-related charges in Polk County, nearly 50 similar charges in Tampa and two warrants for grand theft from the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. The University of South Florida has issued a warrant for his arrest.

"He's a keeper," Hinsz said.

Bohanan's alleged thefts are part of a nationwide problem driven by a combination of high metal prices and unemployment. On top of those, high rates of home foreclosures create an environment ripe for industrious thieves.

"There's a lot of fruit hanging on the tree," Hinsz said.

Hinsz's caseload grew from 434 in 2009-10 to 587 last year. In 2011, he made 138 arrests.

Anything made of metal can be fair game: air-conditioning units, copper wire, concrete anchors, manhole covers, plumbing, stop signs, washing machines, welding equipment.

Thieves have left the Port of Tampa with truck loads of metal. They've stripped electric substations of wire. They've slid under cars and removed catalytic converters with battery-powered saws to get at the platinum inside.

But for every theft that gets reported, many more don't because they fall below the cost of the owner's insurance deductible, said Frank Scafidi, spokesman for the California-based National Insurance Crime Bureau.

"We know we're not seeing all the activity out there," Scafidi said.

So Hinsz depends on scrap yards to flag suspicious activities. He relies on a rapport built over 20 years as a patrolman in the industrial area east of Ybor City known as Six Mile Creek. It's home to nearly a dozen scrap yards.

When air conditioners and copper plumbing began to disappear from homes several years ago, detectives from across Tampa were on the phone to Hinsz. Eventually the side gig became his full-time job.

The new job was a break from investigating traffic crashes and wading into the misery of other people's lives.

"I jumped at it," he said. "I've seen little kids crying in filth. I'd picked people's brains off my shoes long enough."

Since then, Hinsz has won the department's Award of Merit for his work. In December, he was named Officer of the Month.

"You're in trouble if he's investigating you," said Detective Sgt. Pat Kennedy, Hinsz's boss.

But arrests don't always translate into convictions. Felonies get reduced to misdemeanors. Thefts take a back seat to higher-profile crimes. Hinsz gets frustrated.

It's hard to make charges stick without a victim willing to press charges -- a common problem when foreclosed houses sit empty.

Mark Cox, spokesman for Hillsborough County State Attorney Mark Ober, said it's easier to catch metal thieves than to prosecute them.

"If we have a witness or video, that helps a lot," Cox said. "But many times we don't have that. We have to be able to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt."

Hinsz depends on scrap yards to help build his cases.

The yards must document everything they take in. But IDs can be faked, and ownership is hard to prove. For some yard owners, it's easy to look the other way, Hinsz said.

"As long as you met the requirements," Hinsz said, "you could bring the Statue of Liberty there in pieces, claim it's yours, and they'd buy it."

Hinsz says the city's most troublesome yards have closed. He has worked hard to build relationships with the remaining yards and relies on them for tips.

At Trademark Metals' east Tampa scrap yard, manager Jim Zaccario said Hinsz has earned his respect.

"It goes both ways," Zaccario said. "If we see something that looks very suspect, we'll call him."

Hinsz knows his is not the most glamorous line of police work. But that doesn't make his job any less important, he said.

"It's not a glamorous crime until it's your air conditioner that's been gutted," Hinsz said. "Somebody's got to pay for it. It's still stealing."

Copyright 2012 - Tampa Tribune, Fla.

McClatchy-Tribune News Service