DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Businesses in the Belvedere Plaza along Memorial Drive are dealing with uncomfortable conditions and costly repairs after thieves targeted rooftop air conditioning units in multiple break-ins over the course of several days.
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Inside Belvedere Plaza Dental, staff are now relying on portable cooling units and box fans to keep the office operational, some of which require frequent maintenance just to stay running.
“Once every hour, we have to change these out,” explained Belvedere Plaza Dental employee Christina Hawks, referring to the portable air conditioning units.
The impact comes after what Dr. Abbas Haider, owner of Belvedere Plaza Dental, described as a shocking discovery.
“I felt hot, and I went to the thermostat and saw we had no power,” Haider said.
He said when technicians inspected the system, they found extensive damage to the rooftop units.
“Ten to 15 A/C units were destroyed. And this is heavy-duty material. They threw it off the roof onto the floor,” Haider said.
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Video from Haider’s ring camera shows an air conditioning unit being thrown down during the incident.
With central air out of service, the office has turned to temporary fixes to keep patients comfortable.
“I don’t want to disappoint our patients. They’re loyal,” Haider said, explaining his decision to stay open despite the lack of A/C.
But he says the theft has affected more than just his practice.
Haider says multiple businesses inside the plaza are now dealing with the aftermath after units were stolen over the course of several days.
Audio from Haider’s ring camera captures a thief saying, “I’ll come back for it,” during the incident.
Haider also says the responsibility for replacing the units falls on tenants, according to the lease agreement, leaving him to cover the costly repairs on his own.
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“I’m afraid if I go and spend $28,000 on a new unit, what’s to stop them from coming back and doing it again?” he said. “So I’m having to spend additional money to build a steel cage to go around my units. It’s very frustrating.”
DeKalb County police say they responded to at least two separate reports in the 3500 block of Memorial Drive in recent days. One involved copper stolen from an air conditioning unit at a dental office. Another involved two rooftop air conditioning units stolen from a nearby nail salon. Investigators say both thefts were discovered after the fact, and at this time, there is no confirmed connection between the cases. The investigation is ongoing.
Anyone with information is asked to submit an anonymous tip through the DKPD app or by texting “DKPD” to 847411.