Thieves Steal Material Worth Thousands From Habitat For Humanity Construction Site In Sacramento

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Habitat For Humanity is looking for four men who looted their construction site off of Power Inn Road.

The organization is building a 13-home subdivision for single moms and low-income families in the area, and this latest theft isn't the first time the job site has been targeted.

In the latest incident, four men dressed as construction workers were captured on video shuttling sheets of siding into two trucks after breaking into the site.

"You're just feeling, what is wrong with humanity that they have to do this?" said Jim Kurts, a volunteer crew leader.

Kurts and the charity's CEO, Leah Miller, discovered the materials were missing Wednesday morning — $6,000 worth of siding was gone.

"One of those sheets is about — I think $80 a sheet," Kurts said.

The 13-home project is slated for completion in the fall.

Miller says the site has been targeted before.

"In the past year, we've filed over 12 reports to [Sacramento police] for theft or attempted theft," she said.

Miller says windows have been stolen from homes at the far end of the project. They've lost lumber and building materials, and a truck stolen from a crew member's driveway was recovered just two weeks ago. The transmission had been stripped and the catalytic converter was also swiped.

"In total, we've lost about $30,000 in materials," Miller said.

Kurts said a $30,000-loss won't impact this particular project, but it could postpone the building of future homes.

"We end up having to raise more funds for the next project because we lose on this project," he said.

The challenge now is to stay one step ahead of the looters. That means delivering materials only when crews are on-site and not leaving any materials out overnight -- even if the gates are locked.

"I can't help but think there'll be some kind of karma that will come back," Miller said.