HERNANDO CO., Fla -- Compare the new air conditioning unit outside Gennaro's Pizza and Restaurant to owner Giuseppe Guardascione's photos of a metal box torn apart and you'll see why it was a shock to find the restaurant's AC unit destroyed.
"We found all this mess," Guardascione says. "We need the air, and without the air there are a lot of people that just walk away."
This weekend, the Hernando County Sheriff's Office arrested two men from Brooksville, identified as 21-year-old Daniel Rogers and 26-year-old John Terry. Detectives say they are responsible for 13 air conditioning thefts across the county.
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"Both of them have given us some admissions and some confessions to these air conditioner thefts. We've also linked them to some others via some physical evidence," says Sheriff Al Nienhuis.
Along with aluminum, detectives say the men were looking for copper, which currently sells for about $3.60 a pound.
With up to 30 pounds of copper in each unit, the alleged thieves could have cashed in.
"We're all watching now, kind of, like, a little bit nervous," Guardascione says.
One of the main areas that the alleged thieves are accused of targeting is along U.S. 19, locally referred to as Commercial Way. Along with Gennaro's, the Sheriff's Office says the two men also went to a shopping center, and perhaps most surprisingly, a few churches.
Nativity Lutheran Church on Commercial Way was targeted twice. The pastor says one air conditioning unit was tampered with around Christmas Eve. Another one was taken just after the new year. It was a pricey repair, but the pastor told 10 News off camera that they didn't let it stop worship.
As a precaution, several businesses in the area are now looking into installing security cameras.
The two men accused of stealing the AC units are behind bars. Bail for each of them has been set at around $138,000. Their arraignment is scheduled for next month.
Sheriff Nienhuis says they could face additional charges if they're linked to other thefts being investigated.