Buyers of copper, plastic targeted in police sting |
By Sandra Gonzales Mercury News San Jose Mercury News |
With the theft of copper and plastic beverage crates continuing to climb in the South Bay, police have turned their focus to a new target: the recyclers. Police on Friday arrested employees, managers and owners of five businesses in San Jose and three in Santa Clara in a sting operation aimed against those receiving the stolen property. “As long as the thieves know that they have people they can sell it to, they’ll keep stealing,” San Jose police Sgt. Nick Muyo said. Copper theft – said to be committed mostly by methamphetamine users – has become increasingly frequent during the past several years as the price of the metal has jumped to record highs, currently about $3 a pound. And, until recently, the only arrests had been thieves caught stealing the copper at construction sites, abandoned buildings and various commercial sites. But with the thievery unabated, authorities decided on another tactic. During a four-month investigation by the San Jose and Santa Clara police departments, undercover officers posed as thieves selling copper wire and plastic milk crates – another popular item among thieves. Of all the businesses visited, only one refused to take the wire after being told it was stolen, police said. Others freely took the brand new wire even though they had been told it had been stolen, authorities said. Many did the same with the milk crates, even though the crates were clearly marked as the properties of various milk companies and a warning by the milk industry that they were not authorized to recycle them. Several had even attended a police-sponsored class about the law of recycled metals, the thefts of plastic beverage crates and warned about taking in stolen property. Establishments targeted in San Jose: San Jose Metals, 1032 North 10th St.; Ranch Town Recycling, 775 Lincoln Ave.; American Metal and Iron, 11665 Berryessa Road; Tung Tai Group Inc., 1726 Rogers; and Recycling Specialists, 1720 Old Bayshore. In Santa Clara, businesses included: Recycling Services, 1850 Grant St.; AMI Recycling, 2290 De La Cruz Blvd.; and Danny’s Padding and Foam Recycling Center, 1745 Walsh Ave. Those arrested on suspicion of receiving stolen property were Omar V. Martinez, 29; Suleman Sadruddin Valani, 32; Luis Felipe Palma Reyes, 22; Yin Wing Wong, 68; Oscar Jose Pulido, 29; Jennifer Aubrey Schreck: 29; Hung Van Duong, 44. Jaime Soria, 25, and Ruben Torres, 33, are both at large. PG&E and milk companies assisted in the investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call Sgt. Dave Moody or officer Mike Roberson at the Narcotics Covert Investigations Unit at (408)277-4115. Those wishing to remain anonymous may call the San Jose Police Crime Stoppers Program at (408)947-STOP. |
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Some idiot thieves around here stole a grounding wire to an antena or something like that, rendering the thing inoperable, the value of the copper for scrap was a few dollars, but the cost to put in a new one was over $2000. Those people should be hung by their thumbs using the wire they stole.
Man, I must be missing something. Stealing copper and tearing it out of old buildings sounds like more work than a real job would be.
There was a report on the news last night about a guy up this way who supposedly had ripped of a company for a quarter million dollars worth of CU over a year or so.he got off with time served, a fine, and fifteen thousand dollars restitution to the victim.And since he is broke, wanna bet whether they will ever see it?'course he probably hocked it for only about fifty grand...They should have pulled his fingernails out.
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With the theft of copper and plastic beverage crates continuing to climb in the South Bay
I'm suprised to hear that they make copper beverage crates. Sounds expensive.
(grin)
zak
"When we build, let us think that we build forever. Let it not be for present delight nor for present use alone." --John Ruskin
"so it goes"
They broke into a site where we were equipping a well with 100-hp downhole turbine pump, and stole the downhole power wire.
If God is just, they were dumb enough to strip it for the copper. The stuff looks like metallic flex conduit on the outside, but then there is a layer of insulation, another armor layer, insulation, then a woven wire ground sheath, then more insulation, and finally three insulated conductors. The stuff is nearly as tough as the gates of hell. The terminations come prestripped from the factory because it is nearly impossible to strip back.