$10,000 in Royal City PUD copper stolen

ROYAL CITY - Copper valued at $10,000 to the Grant County PUD was stolen on Jan. 16, and it hadn't been located as of last Friday, Jan. 18

The PUD reported the theft to the Royal City Police, but Friday Chief Darin Smith had no idea of the metal's whereabouts or the culprits. He placed the scrap value at about $3,000.

The copper was taken from the PUD's Royal City Service Center. Thieves cut the fence so they could drive into the yard and proceeded to load 1,400 pounds of copper.

Several times last year, Grant County Sheriff Tom Jones reported that metal theft is up. There were several arrests.

"It was interesting to learn from the local scrap dealer that anyone can come in with 30 pounds or less of copper and get cashed out without having to fill out paperwork," the PUD's Ralph Gonzalez said.

Smith said the local scrap dealer was alerted to the theft. He said he knows of network way to inform all scrap dealers in the state.

- Staff report