Apparently, the heat wave is getting to everyone in Newton County, including the criminal element.

Thieves allegedly made off with an air-conditioning unit from a Covington residence sometime between Thursday and Friday afternoon for unknown purposes, according to an incident report from the Newton County Sheriff's Office.

A witness described in the report how the perpetrators drove to the back of the residence and parked in the garage area in an attempt to hide the vehicle. The perpetrators reportedly walked to the rear of the residence and cut the power line and service lines to a cooling unit. They forced open a basement entrance and cut the remaining main service lines and safety straps to the cooling unit.

The perpetrators then loaded the unit, allegedly valued at $2,600, onto a truck and left the area, according to the report.

In a separate incident, an air-conditioning unit from a Covington rental property was reported on Saturday as stolen, according to a Covington Police Public Information Log

The unit was taken sometime within the last three weeks, after the complainant's husband last checked the property. Part of the outside housing for the cooling unit still remained, according to the log, and the perpetrators appeared to have taken the unit for its copper and other metals.