The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the theft of two heavy air-conditioning units from the roof of Village Market on the weekend of July 13.

The units, two Daikin industrial air conditioners, had been supplied to Village Market by Tim Olivier’s Mountain Mechanical Heating and Air. Village Market is owned by Jay McCormack.

Surveillance videos taken over the periods in which the thefts occurred are in the process of being enhanced by Sheriff’s Department investigators to better identify perpetrators.

McCormack believes four to six cars and a significant number of people were involved in the theft. Vehicles and people were videoed suspiciously driving and walking in the parking lot between Village Market and Village Hardware when neither store was open for business at the times when units were believed stolen. Enhancement of the video images may give investigators better information and potential leads.

Air conditioners, especially larger industrial units, have become theft targets because of copper coils that can be extracted and scrapped for cash.

Riverside County Sheriff’s Department requests that anyone who has any information regarding this theft should contact Investigative Sergeant Ken Reichle at 951-791-3418 or by email at [email protected]. Community input has been helpful in the past in identifying perpetrators that were local.