Metal theives may be "cleaning up"

HOLLY RIDGE - When it comes to scrap metal, it's getting harder to tell the good guys from the bad guys, according to the Holly Ridge Police Department.

"A lot of these people that are stealing metal are in the business of cleaning up properties, or they have a connection with the salvage yards that is legal at times, so the salvage yards don't look at them funny when they come in with a quantity of metal," Holly Ridge Police Chief John Maiorano said.

He said Holly Ridge has had a recent increase in reports of metal thefts.

Two businesses - Jones-Onslow Electric Membership Corp. and E&R Inc. - had copper wire stolen from the Summerhouse development in Holly Ridge.

Holly Ridge Detective Deron Jones has investigated those thefts and several other metal thefts.

"The same I-beams were stolen from a property twice," Jones said. "The property owner used 10 to 12 I-beams which he laid out to block off properties in the woods. We recovered them - two teens stole them. The owner placed them back, and they got stolen again."

Michael Rhodes and Norman Foster of Sneads Ferry were arrested on multiple felony charges in connection with those thefts. Foster, Jones said, confessed to taking the metal.

An additional warrant on that theft has been issued for Michael Rhodes.

"Sometimes we get lucky, and we can call the salvage yard and they will remember buying a particular item, and they are very good about sending us the copies of the receipts," Jones said.

Jones also said Advanced Machine Group Inc. had sheets of stainless steel stolen. Jones was able to locate them at J&E Salvage, and said the owner was able to verify them as the ones stolen by identifying marks on the metal.

"We work these cases as hard as we can ... and we're being as proactive as we can," Maiorano said. "The thing is, a lot of these guys can store this stuff until they have a large quantity, so we may not see it show up at a salvage place for a month or two. It's a little hard for us to catch these guys that do that, because the stuff is not out for us to pick back up."

Maiorano suggests as a possible deterrent to thieves that salvage yards better document the metals they're taking in. Maiorano also suggests that residents be aware of the problem and not leave stainless steel, aluminum, copper and other materials out in full view. If something is stolen, report it to police immediately, he said, adding people often wait too long to report the thefts.

"Almost every one of these, not every one, are a crime of opportunity," he said. "The suspects see it ... or they have availability to the site, and they come back after hours and take it. It's just like leaving money lying out; if someone sees it, they're going to come back later and take it. If the extra precaution is taken to somehow screen it from view, that would probably cut down on half the cases."

Scrap metal dealer John Darlington, who owns J&E Salvage in Jacksonville, agreed it's a challenge telling who is legitimately recycling metal.

"We and the law have a lot of difficulty knowing who the crooks are," Darlington said. "The crooks all know that there are no numbers on the materials to identify them, and we have no way of knowing if the scrap is stolen. Unless you can mark it somehow, or the police have called us up and asked us about something, there is no way for us to know whether it's stolen or not."

The price increase is one reason Darlington thinks thefts may be up.

"People are stealing scrap everywhere, it has become a big problem, because prices have doubled and in some cases tripled on certain metals," he said. "Nobody never gets caught on most thefts that occur, and we're going to see it get really bad as time goes on, with the economy as it is. Everybody is vulnerable."

That includes Darlington himself.

The flashing light off the top of his truck was stolen. He said his truck was parked in a fenced-in area, but the thief or thieves broke through the fence and unscrewed the light from the roof.

"I can't identify it," he said. "And I have had things stolen off my (salvage yard), too."

Contact Topsail area reporter Suzanne Ulbrich at sulbrich@freedomenc.com or 910-219-8466. Visit www.jdnews.com to comment on this report.