Copper signs taken from Santa Ana neighborhood
Police suspect the signs were stolen to be sold as scrap.
By DOUG IRVING
The Orange County Register

SANTA ANA Copper signs worth an estimated $20,000 vanished this week from the Sandpointe neighborhood – apparently taken by thieves hoping to sell them for scrap money.
The four signs spelled out "Sandpointe" in copper letters about a foot high, with a copper bird at the end. They were pried from the block walls that encircle the neighborhood on Monday and Tuesday nights.
Police are investigating but have no suspects. Cmdr. Steve Colon said the signs were most likely stolen to be sold at a scrap yard.
"Since they're made of copper, they're actually fairly valuable," he said.
The letters were cemented to the walls and had been there for about 20 years, said Bob Black, the president of the Sandpointe Neighborhood Association. He said the estimate to replace all 40 stolen letters came to around $20,000.
But, he said, "I wouldn't put them back up there."
The neighborhood – in the southeast corner of the city – may have to look into using wood or plastic signs to deter thieves, he added.
The theft of brass, copper and other metals to be sold as scrap "is not uncommon," Colon said. Last year, police arrested two homeless men in connection with the theft of at least 18 brass landmark plaques that were pried from buildings around the Civic Center