The Pasadena Police Department issued a formal alert on Wednesday, July 29, warning all local businesses to secure their rooftop air conditioning units after copper thieves shifted tactics from stripping city streetlights to gutting commercial HVAC systems.
The department's alert, posted on its official X account, marks a shift from responding to individual incidents to treating the thefts as a citywide property-crime trend. At least six rooftop AC copper thefts have been recorded in Pasadena in 2026, according to the city's advisory, with each incident costing businesses thousands of dollars.
The warning comes as an extreme heat wave continues to grip the region, making the loss of air conditioning more than an inconvenience.
A bakery left sweltering
Sweet Red Peach, a bakery at 319 S. Arroyo Parkway, was hit on July 15 when thieves climbed onto the roof and stripped roughly half the copper from its AC unit, Pasadena Now reported. A technician estimated about $4,000 in copper was taken; the unit itself, valued at roughly $11,000, had to be replaced entirely.
The bakery went without air conditioning for at least seven days. By July 21, the kitchen temperature had reached 93 degrees, according to the Los Angeles Times.
"It was the last thing in our mind to think that somebody would go on our roof and hit our specific AC unit and damage it to the point where it's inoperable," co-owner Danny Griffin told ABC7 on July 20.
Petsadena Animal Hospital at 959 S. Raymond Ave. was also targeted. Both businesses stayed open, relying on portable air units and ice.
Years of copper losses
The rooftop thefts represent an escalation of a problem Pasadena has faced since at least 2022. By early 2024, thieves had cut approximately 6.5 miles of wire from the city's streetlight grid, prompting a $20,000 reward from the city and Los Angeles County. This spring, hundreds of feet more copper vanished from streetlight boxes.
The shift to rooftop units makes commercial buildings the new target. Chief Communications Officer Lisa Derderian told the Pasadena Star-News that rooftop units are particularly vulnerable because they sit out of sight on flat, easily scalable buildings.
The problem extends beyond Pasadena. In June 2026, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a motion to develop a countywide strategy to combat copper theft, citing more than $100 million in repair costs in the city of Los Angeles alone since 2020.
What businesses should do
The city urged businesses to take several steps:
- Restrict roof access
- Install heavy-duty, tamper-resistant steel cages around rooftop units
- Keep all ladders locked away
- Set up motion-activated security cameras that alert owners or landlords to unauthorized rooftop activity
Because many affected businesses are renters, the city also urged tenants to alert their landlords to the risk.
The thefts are dangerous for the perpetrators, too. Officials warned that cutting live grounding lines or tampering with transformers can deliver a lethal electric shock and spark fires that endanger utility crews and bystanders.
Anyone with information on the thefts can call the Pasadena Police Department at 626-744-4241.
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