Investigators say they have identified a suspect in more than 30 home break-ins across Kettering and Oakwood in which thousands of dollars of copper pipes and tubing have been taken, police said Tuesday.

The man has not been charged in any of the cases, but has been held in the Montgomery County Jail since Feb. 4 on an unrelated warrant, said Kettering Det. Dave Marcum.

Oakwood police arrested the man after several people reported seeing a suspicious vehicle driving slowly through the city, Marcum said.

“We think he’s the same one that’s done all of them,” Marcum said.

There have been at least 11 cases in Oakwood, and the number in Kettering is now up to 20. Police are still finding cases, Marcum said, as the targets have generally been empty houses — those for sale or in foreclosure. Often, the damage has not been found until weeks after the break-ins, Marcum said.

The man has not been charged in any of the break-ins, but police continue to build cases against him. They have identified two of his friends who were selling the copper at local scrapyards, Marcum said.

Witnesses told police that these men were selling an unusual amount of copper, leading them to wonder where they were getting it, Marcum said.

“People just don’t throw copper out in the trash,” he said.

The cases go back to mid-January. In Kettering, the break-ins started in the western part of the city, then moved east and into Oakwood, Marcum said.

The thief has generally targeted empty houses with “some aspect of cover,” such as bushes obscuring portions of the property from view, Marcum said. In some cases, the thief has been bold enough to break in through the rear of a home, then dismantle the garage door opener so he can back his vehicle into the garage and load up, he said.

“He pretty much has as much time as he wants,” Marcum said.

Copper sells for $2.90 a pound, so the thief has been taking a few hundred dollars worth from each break-in, but generally leaves thousands of dollars in damage to the structure, Marcum said.

“It’s devastating for a lot of people,” he said.