Your home being built in Fort Worth might be in trouble — more lumber thefts reported

Domingo Ramirez Jr.
·2 min read

Thieves are using flatbed trucks to haul lumber away from home construction sites, and some suspects are believed to be associated with construction work in Fort Worth and throughout North Texas, police said this week.

Detectives believe other suspects are working for subcontractors for builders such as roofers, painters, brick-layers and other jobs.

In June alone, PulteGroup sites in North Texas were hit for over $100,000 worth of materials, Fort Worth police said. In Parker County, thieves took almost $50,000 worth of lumber and building materials from construction sites this summer.

The thefts of lumber and other building materials have increased significantly in recent weeks in Fort Worth, and in other North Texas counties, as the price of lumber increased during the COVID pandemic. Police did not release the total number of theft cases.

And, thieves continued hitting Fort Worth sites in recent days. On Wednesday, five theft reports were filed with Fort Worth police, and those cases had not been assigned to detectives yet.

“Multiple suspects have been identified. Arrest warrants will be filed in the upcoming weeks,” said Fort Worth police Officer Jimmy Pollozani, a police spokesman, in an email. “Our detectives are working on getting (more) suspects identified.”

Lumber supply shortages were met with elevated demand during the COVID-19 pandemic, driving lumber prices to historic levels. Futures prices tipped over $1,600 per 1,000 board feet in May, which is a jump of more than 300% from April 2020, according to the National Association of Home Builders.

But prices have steadily decreased since then, falling by more than 50% to just under $800 per board feet in early July. But they’re still higher than before the pandemic.

In Fort Worth, police are encouraging builders to install security cameras at construction sites to curb the thefts.

In Parker County, four suspects have been arrested in connection with the thefts of lumber and building materials during the summer.

Parker County Sheriff Russ Authier has said that the arrests have led to the solving of five theft cases in North Texas.

Security video captured the suspects entering the Morning Star housing addition, taking items from construction sites and loading them in their trucks before fleeing the area.