Businesses are struggling with vandalism and theft in Eugene, Oregon

Thefts, arson, graffiti and other crimes hit West Eugene hard. See how these latest incidents are testing the community’s resilience.

Demolished heating and cooling systems. A man caught on camera setting a van on fire. The streets and paths of Eugene were plunged into darkness. Hateful graffiti sprayed on walls.

In a particularly vulnerable part of West Eugene, a spate of copper thefts, fires and blatant vandalism is testing the resilience of businesses and residents, leaving property owners to bear enormous repair costs as city officials look for solutions. With the track lights stripped and no clear solution in sight, Eugene’s struggle to combat these costly crimes has intensified, hampered by scarce resources and mounting public frustration as the community grapples with safety issues.

Employees at the Euphoria Chocolate Company building near Bertelsen and Stewart roads in west Eugene were conducting a routine search of their property on Oct. 1 when they discovered their heating, ventilation and air conditioning system had been destroyed and the wiring was demolished.

“Tuesday morning is the day the plant opens because we run Tuesday through Friday and we always sweep the building because we have to clean up trash, drug paraphernalia and often human waste,” said Bonnie Glass, owner of Euphoria. Chocolate company. “As far as we can tell, this was done in search of copper. It costs a few dollars in copper, but for me it costs tens of thousands of dollars.”

Steven Leuck owns Contractors Electric in west Eugene, near Seventh Avenue and Commercial Street, less than a mile from the chocolate factory. Early in the morning on Wednesday, October 2, a man driving a distinctive black camper with red stripes on it exited his vehicle and set fire to a Contractors Electric service van.

“He got out and approached the van with a large gas can and apparently siphoned off some fuel and then set it on fire,” Leuck told The Register-Guard. “We don’t know why he would do that. Once it gets going, he walks to the back of the van and watches it for about half a minute and then he quickly walks to his camper, gets in and races out.”

The fire also set the vegetation in front of the company on fire. A passerby on the Beltline Highway noticed the fire and called 911.

At first glance, Leuck said the van might have been worth $10,000 to $20,000, but to replace that and put another van into service would likely cost $30,000 to $40,000.

“My first reaction was ‘why?’ You stole the gas, good for you,” Leuck said. “You have ten dollars to drive a few miles down the road. Why would you do that to us?”

As of October 31, the Euphoria Chocolate Company was still without an HVAC system. Glass said the installation of barbed wire fencing cost the company $13,000 and replacing the unit would cost more than $28,000.

Problems along Eugene bike paths

One thing the Euphoria Chocolate Company and Contractors Electric have in common is their proximity to the Fern Ridge Trail system, which runs along Amazon Creek.

From copper wire thefts at local businesses to arson, accusations of rapegraffiti and more, it looks like Eugene is having problems on the bike paths. Along the Fern Ridge Trail system that runs past the Euphoria property, the city’s lights are often out because copper thieves have stripped them of their wiring, officials said.

Law enforcement officials reported allegations on August 8 that a woman had been raped on the Fern Ridge bike path along Amazon Creek. In September, a suspect was arrested in connection with the allegations and charged with several crimes.

On September 27, Eugene officials published a press release claiming that copper wire thefts not only plagued the city’s infrastructure and operations, but also local businesses and utilities.

“A wave of wire thefts along Eugene’s bike paths is destructive, disruptive and costly to taxpayers,” city officials said. “Copper thieves break into electrical junction boxes and steal wire that supplies power to pole-mounted lights.”

Because of the wire theft, portions of the Fern Ridge Trail, Interstate 5, Ruth Bascom bike paths and other areas in the city remain unlit, officials said.

“We are working on a solution to address this,” Chris Henry, a traffic engineer with Eugene Public Works, said in the news release. “In the meantime, the community should be aware that portions of the path lighting are not working.”

The city said it has taken steps in the past to deter the crimes, including installing concrete barriers — each weighing 900 pounds — on top of the wiring access points. Despite this, thieves have managed to overcome these measures in some cases and the number of wire theft incidents appears to have increased compared to previous years.

City officials said Eugene Public Works uses revenue from state and local gas taxes to maintain paths along street rights-of-way. To repair theft damage outside the right-of-way, Eugene Public Works would have to apply for an allocation from the city’s property tax-supported general fund.

The thefts have caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage, but Henry said it’s difficult to find general fund dollars to replace stolen wire with so many other priorities competing for funding.

Copper wire thefts aren’t the only crimes endangering public safety on Eugene’s bike paths.

‘It doesn’t matter, it never goes anywhere’

This summer, arsons have been particularly problematic along the Fern Ridge Trail System.

On September 4, the Eugene-Springfield Fire Department responded to a fast-moving brush fire that started near the bike path.

At the time, Battalion Chief Chris Paskett told The Register-Guard that crews had “received a report that someone had intentionally started a fire outside of the bike path.” The fire was extinguished within an hour.

On August 10, ESF crews responded to a small brush fire in the same area along the bike path near Seventh Avenue and Commercial Street. About a week earlier, on July 30, ESF also responded to a “suspicious” vegetation fire at a local milling facility near W. First Avenue and S. Bertelsen Road. At that time, firefighters arrived and contained the fire to two piles of logs at the facility and were able to contain the fire before it damaged the logs.

Melinda McLaughlin, spokesperson for the Eugene Police Department, said patrols are focusing on areas with increased criminal activity.

“To combat issues surrounding a business, we generally recommend that they report everything,” McLaughlin said. “They can request patrol checks by officers and community organizations to create a presence, and they can contact their community engagement specialist to design crime prevention, install security and work with neighbors.”

After reporting to EPD that his company service car had been set on fire, Leuck said he had not received a response from an officer for days.

“I called and left a quick message about ‘come on, tell us what’s going on,’ and he called me back late at night and I told him we had the footage and stuff and he just seemed a bit whoa- hm,” said Leuck. “Without being able to recognize him in the video, it probably doesn’t mean anything. I said, ‘Well, that van is quite distinctive,’ and he says, ‘It doesn’t matter. It will never go anywhere.” “

Glass said she is becoming increasingly frustrated at being the victim of criminal activity in the community. Before the Euphoria Chocolate Company’s HVAC system was demolished, Glass said solar panels were stolen from the factory’s roof and hate speech, including a swastika and homophobic slurs, were painted on the factory’s doors.

According to Glass, the person responsible for the hate speech was identified through CCTV footage. EPD said they have arrested a 26-year-old suspect in connection with the incident.

For the theft of the copper wire, Glass says they have surveillance footage of the person who destroyed the HVAC system, but the suspect, who was wearing a headlight, was unidentifiable on camera.

“I would like to see real solutions to a problem that seems to be on the rise again,” Glass said. “So even if we could locate it, would they ever really get caught? Would they ever really be prosecuted? Would they ever really be held accountable? And even if they did, they don’t have the money to do this to replace.” and refund us. They probably don’t have the financial resources for that and it therefore remains a cost item that we have to bear.”

Moving forward, Euphoria Chocolate Company will install its new HVAC system the week of November 4th. Glass said an increase in police presence in the area has made a huge difference in the amount of loitering and trash the company has seen on its property. .

“What I’ve noticed is that they just come through here, come through once a day, and we’ve seen a decrease. It’s really just that presence that makes a huge difference,” Glass said. “Since that started, the amount of trash we had to clean up has decreased, everything has improved a little bit.”

Leuck said Contractors Electric cannot replace the damaged service truck, but is now considering hiring armed security in partnership with other businesses in the area.

According to the city of Eugene, EPD has deployed a detective to investigate wire thefts in the city and has made at least one arrest so far this year.

Anyone who witnesses a crime in progress is asked to call 911. If vandalism has already occurred, residents are asked to report it via the My PD Connect page or call (541)-682)-5111.

Haleigh Kochanski is a breaking news and public safety reporter for The Register-Guard. You can reach her at [email protected].