Call this caper The Royal Flush. Or perhaps The Great Porcelain Pilferage. Police have arrested a man who they believe is a serial thief who stole toilet parts from Denver metro area buildings and sold them for scrap.
David Allen Citron, an area plumber, who the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office has dubbed the "crapper scrapper," has been arrested and faces 18 charges of second degree burglary, theft and criminal mischief, The Denver Post reports. The unfortunate nickname he's been given by the authorities may be punishment in and of itself.
Police believe that Citron, a 48-year-old Denver-area plumber, stole toilet parts from several Denver-area buildings, including Southwest Plaza Mall, the University of Denver, Craig Hospital as well as a King Soopers grocery store and several public restrooms in office buildings, according to CBS News.
9News reports that Citron would allegedly enter a building, sometimes going floor to floor, turn off the water in the restroom, and take the copper and brass plumbing from the toilets. He would then take the metal to a scrap yard and sell it. The total value in the 18 known cases is nearly $6,400 in both metal and damages to restrooms, according to 7News.
"What he takes and gets very little money for at these scrap yards is costing these businesses thousands of dollars to replace," Jamie Greaser, a spokesperson for the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department, told CBS News.
Citron is a suspect in five different Jefferson County cases including jurisdictions in Denver, Englewood and Lakewood.
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