Air conditioner theft ring on ice

ST. LUCIE COUNTY, Fla. - Two St. Lucie County men face some legal heat after being accused of stealing 20 air conditioners.

Michael Armand Delorme and Alan Kenneth Camp, both 33 from Fort Pierce, are under arrest and in jail.

Investigators accuse the pair of stealing air conditioning units at night, stripping them, and then selling the parts for scrap at area recycling centers.

According to investigators, eleven of the units were stolen in Fort Pierce, and nine were taken in unincorporated St. Lucie County.

"The theft of air conditioning units for sale as scrap metal has been a troublesome problem in our area and around the nation," said Fort Pierce Police Chief R. Sean Baldwin in a news release.

The Fort Pierce Police Department and St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office worked together to solve the case.

Camp's bond was set at $70,000. He faces charges of grand theft and dealing-in-stolen-property.

Delorme's bond is $110,000. He faces charges of theft, burglary, loitering and prowling, grand theft and dealing in stolen property.

Investigators think some of the A/C units were taken from abandoned, foreclosed or repossessed properties.