3 arrested; allegedly stole copper wire

BY CHRISTIAN HILL | THE OLYMPIAN • Published July 10, 2008

• Comments (0)

The Lewis County Sheriff's Office reported today the arrest of three men for allegedly stealing several thousand feet of copper wire and selling it to recyclers in Portland.

More arrests are anticipated, the agency said.

The men arrested Wednesday were identified as Clayton S. Fraley, 30, of Toledo; Myndee J. Kelly, 41, of Winlock; and Charles T. Tanner, 34, of Toledo.

They were booked in the county Jail and face multiple counts of various charges, including theft, malicious mischief, and possession and trafficking of stolen property. Kelly had an outstanding warrant for bail jumping.

The arrests made by detectives with the wire theft task force effectively shut down a ring that was stealing copper power lines from the county Public Utility District and transporting it down to Oregon, the sheriff’s office said.

The task force worked with the utility, Portland police and other local law enforcement during the lengthy investigation, which involved surveillance.

“While the arrests of this ring of thieves will have a positive impact upon the theft of PUD wire in Lewis County, the theft of wire and metal products will not stop without continued enforcement efforts, cooperation from the public and aggressive prosecution,” Sheriff Steve Mansfield said in a news release.

The sheriff added he anticipates state legislation would be introduced next year to further regulate the scrap metal business to ensure thieves can’t profit from wire theft.

A state law that took effect a year ago requires recyclers to maintain a record of transactions that are open to inspection by law enforcement. Recyclers must pay for transactions of more than $30 by check and wait 10 days to give the money to the buyer, giving authorities time to identify stolen metal.

The task force made its first two arrests last month.