HOUSTON \u2013 A Houston dessert shop owner says her business was targeted twice in less than a week by people trying to steal copper wiring. Doorbell camera video shows both of the incidents \u2014 leaving her with electrical damage, a power outage and thousands of dollars in lost inventory.<\/p>\n
Jasmine Chida, owner of SweetCup Gelato on Montrose Boulevard, says she first noticed two people she believed were scouting the shopping center on Saturday.<\/p>\n
The next morning, she says they attempted to steal copper wiring from the back of the business.<\/p>\n
The first attempt was unsuccessful, but it left SweetCup without power for about seven hours. Chida estimates she lost about $2,000 in gelato and other inventory because of the outage.<\/p>\n
She says the business was then targeted again around 5 a.m. Friday.<\/p>\n
Surveillance video provided by Chida shows people at the back of the property, with a rope attached to PVC piping that houses electrical wiring. Chida says the people then used a vehicle in an attempt to pull the wiring away from the building.<\/p>\n
A contractor who evaluated the damage after the second attempt determined that some of the wiring had been successfully stolen. The stolen wire could be worth an estimated $1,350 to $1,500 at roughly $5 per pound.<\/p>\n
But Chida says the potential impact on her business is far greater than the value of the copper.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s like $4,000, $5,000 of inventory and a sales weekend we can\u2019t afford to lose,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
CenterPoint disconnected the wires inside the PVC pipes after the first attempt. Chida says that helped prevent another power outage during the second incident, although the property sustained additional damage.<\/p>\n
City says copper theft is increasing<\/p>\n
The incident comes as the Office of Houston City Council Member Joe Panzarella says HPD has reported an uptick in copper wire theft over the past few years.<\/p>\n
The office says the impact on businesses can extend far beyond the stolen material, including loss of power, air conditioning and other essential infrastructure.<\/p>\n
Those disruptions can force businesses to close while repairs are made, creating additional financial pressure for companies already operating on tight budgets.<\/p>\n
The council member\u2019s office says commercial properties with limited security or several empty storefronts can be particularly vulnerable to wire theft.<\/p>\n
Chida says SweetCup is now the only business remaining in the shopping center after other tenants left following the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n
She says she has never experienced copper wire theft at the property during the nearly 15 years she has operated there.<\/p>\n
Business owner urges others to stay alert<\/p>\n
Chida says she\u2019s sharing her surveillance video in hopes that other business owners will recognize the warning signs and stay vigilant.<\/p>\n
She says she\u2019s also considering additional security measures, including fencing around vulnerable areas.<\/p>\n
Councilmember Panzarella\u2019s office encourages business owners to report every instance of copper theft to HPD so law enforcement can document the incidents and identify potential patterns.<\/p>\n
The office also recommends that business owners talk with their insurance providers before a theft occurs to understand what coverage is available.<\/p>\n
For businesses in District C experiencing repeated copper theft, the council member\u2019s office says they can reach out for the latest recommendations and resources.<\/p>\n
Chida says her biggest concern now is what could happen if the thieves return a third time.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want other business owners to keep an eye out for this so it doesn\u2019t happen to them,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019re all a big community.\u201d<\/p>\n
Copyright 2026 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HOUSTON \u2013 A Houston dessert shop owner says her business was targeted twice in less than a week…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":413501,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[144251,144249,144247,144241,144242,144250,144236,56,144240,58,57,144246,144244,144245,1987,144243,144239,144248,5502,144237,144238],"class_list":["post-413500","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-houston","tag-business-break-in","tag-business-power-outage-houston","tag-commercial-property-security","tag-commercial-property-theft","tag-copper-theft-impact","tag-copper-theft-prevention","tag-copper-wire-theft","tag-houston","tag-houston-business-losses","tag-houston-headlines","tag-houston-news","tag-houston-small-business-losses","tag-hpd-copper-theft-uptick","tag-impact-of-wire-theft-on-businesses","tag-montrose","tag-small-business-security","tag-surveillance-video-theft","tag-sweetcup-gelato-break-in","tag-theft","tag-wire-theft","tag-wire-theft-prevention"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/413500","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=413500"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/413500\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/413501"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=413500"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=413500"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=413500"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}