Man claiming to be coolant crook calls victim

An update on a story we brought you last night on CHCH News.

We showed you video of an alleged theft of freon from an air conditioner unit at Bartlett’s House of Antiques in Virgil. Freon is the gas that makes the cold air. Natasha Jodoin-Davies, owner of the business says after the story aired on CHCH, she was called by someone who said he took the freon — and offered to pay for it.

“My air conditioner technician came in and said he got an anonymous tip about who had stolen the freon, and at one o’clock this afternoon I also got a phone call from someone stating that he had stolen the freon. He didn’t give me his name, but that he was apologetic, that he was sorry that he did it. The reasons for him doing it was that obviously he had to pay someone else, and that he offered to pay back or replace the freon.”

But at the time of the interview – the man still hadn’t shown up.

We’re also learning about reported thefts of freon in the U.S. In Orlando, more than $200,000 worth was taken from a warehouse on Monday.

The price of freon has gone up because production is being phased out, but a lot of home air conditioners still use it – keeping demand high.

Video: Evening News coverage: