SEVEN YEARS FOR PUEBLO'S MILLION-DOLLAR COPPER THIEF

Million-dollar copper crook Claude Sterner, 45, has been sentenced to seven years in prison for cannibalizing commercial heating and air conditioning units across Pueblo, police said Thursday.
"Over the course of several months, investigators meticulously tracked patterns of destruction and traced multiple crime scenes involving stripped copper components and severely damaged rooftop units," police said. "Their extensive efforts revealed a consistent method of operation, ultimately identifying a single primary suspect connected to the wave of losses that had impacted numerous local businesses. "Detectives uncovered that Sterner had systematically damaged HVAC units and stolen copper components valued at more than $1 million."