Somerset Police Hide On Roof, Bust Suspected Copper Thief

SOMERSET (CBS) - A suspected copper thief from Fall River was caught in the act in Somerset early Saturday morning.

Between Thursday and Friday, tens of thousands of dollars of copper flashing was stolen from the roof of Somerset-Berkley Regional High School. Leaks caused from the missing copper caused water damage to the gym.

Somerset Police Chief Joseph Ferreira, along with Captain Glenn Neto and Detective Jason Matos spent Friday night on the roof doing surveillance.

While officers were up there, around 4:20 a.m., 33-year-old Raymond Robidoux climbed up.

Police say they caught Robidoux with burglary tools while in the process of stealing more copper from the roof.

After the arrest, a fire department ladder truck was called in to safely remove everyone from the roof.

"When someone steals this amount of goods from the public, and causes significant damage, we take it personal and serious," Chief Ferreira said. "We did, and were willing to allocate as many resources as possible to catch him."

The chief suggested that Mr. Robidoux was already a person of interest, but pointed out, "nothing beats catching him in the act."