Man Charged With Stealing Copper from Perry Hall BGE
Police say a Kingsville man stole more than $2,360 in copper from the Belair Road facility.
A Kingsville man was arrested on charges that allege he stole copper wire from a Baltimore Gas & Electric Company storage facility in Perry Hall early Thursday morning.
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A security guard working at the facility on the 9700 block of Belair Road saw a man enter the facility on surveillance footage and called police shortly after midnight on Nov. 3 to report a suspicious person, according to a police report.
Officers responded and found that a fence in the rear of the property had been pulled apart where it was previously damaged during earlier burglaries.
With the help of a helicopter, police located a man who matched the security guard's description in the 4200 block of Forge Road. A pile of copper spools, marked with BGE tags, was found in the nearby woods. The total estimated value of the copper that was stolen and eventually returned to BGE is $2,360, a police report stated.
Police arrested 37-year-old David Allen Pritt, of the 11000 block of Belair Road in Kingsville and charged him with fourth-degree burglary, theft under $10,000, malicious destruction of property and trespassing, court records show.
Pritt told police during questioning that he had been at a bar and left his car there to avoid a DUI, according to a police report. Police later located Pritt’s 2002 Mercury Cougar in a parking lot in the 4200 block of Forge Road, where there are no bars nearby.
Additional investigation revealed that Pritt has visited scrapyards to sell copper and brass six times since August, the police report stated.
He was later released on $10,000 bond, court records show.
What can the community do to guard against copper theft? Tell us in the comments.
Dan
7:32 am on Monday, November 7, 2011
Thank you, Perry Hall Patch. This is exactly what I meant. :D
DARRELL HAMMERBACKER
8:07 am on Monday, November 7, 2011
You think thats bad? All you LANDLORDS who rent to section 8 for your guaranteed money and all the Banks who are not evicting where Drugs are being dealt and used better ck their Properties too.A lot of these Homes are being stripped of there Copper pipes and wiring.How do I know this? Because its happening right next to me.
Tim
9:42 am on Monday, November 7, 2011
This is commonplace in this country these days. Along Darrell's lines, you guys think this is bad, this will get worse as even the 99 week unemployment insurance is about to expire for hundreds of thousands of people soon.
Robert Armstrong
1:07 pm on Monday, November 7, 2011
Under Section 8 housing all damage is repaired at the governments expense. I don't think the slumlords give a fat rat's arse.
Red Dolphin
1:59 pm on Monday, November 7, 2011
"Additional investigation revealed that Pritt has visited scrapyards to sell copper and brass six times since August, the police report stated." I guess thats why i hear the police alwsy going to the scrap yard on yellow brick rd huh?
chsmm1
10:27 am on Tuesday, November 8, 2011
The Giant where I shop had gotten smaller shopping carts, but within a couple of weeks I noticed it was hard to find one to use. I asked on the employees about the shortage of the smaller carts and he said that the carts were being stolen and sold for scrap metal. Within a few months, Giant stopped using them altogether. It's a shame because the carts were convenient to use for a quick trip to the store.