Arrest made in Macon copper theft case causing $3 million in damages

The Macon real estate agent selling the building estimates the thief only got away with maybe $1,000 in copper, but the damage caused is estimated to be around $3 million. The culprit, Daniel Clayton Hobbs, was arrested by the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office and charged with two counts of burglary in the second degree. The building, a former orthopedic building on Riverside Park Boulevard, was foreclosed on by a bank last summer and has since been broken into multiple times. Despite the damage inside, the real estate agent hopes it won’t deter potential buyers from purchasing the 42,000 square foot building on almost 16 acres. The cost of copper isn’t very high, but recyclers like Radius Recycling in Macon work closely with law enforcement to detect stolen materials before they are sold. The case is still under investigation by the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office.