Theft of copper on rise in city
By JIMMY GALVAN Managing Editor

There is a new form of crime that has infiltrated Jasper - stealing copper.

According to Jasper Police Investigator Richard Goings, the department has had to deal with a rash of copper thefts in recent weeks with it culminating with the arrest of six individuals in connection with a copper theft ring.

"Right now, copper is bringing the top dollar at the scrap yards," Goings said. "They are stripping it from anything they can."

At Jasper area scrap yards, copper can be sold for anywhere from $2-3.50 a pound.

Goings said one or two groups that are concentrating on stealing copper have targeted abandoned buildings in Jasper. Buildings such as the former U-Save and the bottling plant located behind Lowe's.

"These are vacant buildings that no one may go in and notice the theft for months," Goings said. "They are stripping it from the buildings everywhere they can. Right now, it's going for a higher price than it ever has gone for before."

Goings said there are several active cases for the department on copper theft.

Recently, Jasper Police arrested three individuals in connection with the theft of copper at the vacant bottling plant.

Jasper Police arrested Raylee Brown, Salvador Mendez and Steven Matthew Parker for their alleged connection with a series of copper thefts in the area. They were charged with organized criminal activity. Goings believes the trio may be connected to other cases as well.

"They hit it several times," Goings said. "These arrests stem from a lot of work by the department. Patrol gave us a lot of information. So far, we have arrested five or six individuals in connection with copper theft.

"It's not so much that this is the new crime but it's more prevalent because of the high dollar of the copper," Goings said.

Goings said watchful eyes are the only means to prevent this type of crime from occurring.

"If you see anyone messing around with a vacant building or houses, call the police immediately," Goings said. "You can ride by on the outside and not tell if anything is wrong. It's not until you go inside and you find out you have no copper in the building.

"These thefts are costing the citizens a lot of money," Goings said. "The money they are getting for the copper is nothing compared to the damages they are doing to the building.

Goings said the department is hoping these arrests may serve as a deterrent to future copper thefts in the area.