The Voice Photo by C. Colt Crane
Cassia County Police arrested copper wire thieves using a GPS tracking device embedded in a roll of wire, south of Burleyy recently. The wire is stripped and brought to recyclers looking like this.
By C. COLT CRANE
The Voice
CASSIA COUNTY – Two subjects have been arrested for Grand Theft south of Burley in Cassia County.
Jorge Ernest Castillo, 39 of Burley and an unidentified 15-year-old male juvenile were arrested on January 22 for stealing a roll of copper wire in a rural area of Cassia County.
The roll of wire that Castillo and his accomplice were arrested for stealing had been embedded with a GPS tracking device that allowed deputies to track the location of the wire after it had been lifted.
“This is the second time the use of the GPS trackers have led to multiple arrests in the last couple of years,” said Cassia County Sheriff Randy Kidd in a press release.
The GPS tracker helped Cassia County deputies locate the suspected vehicle which contained the stolen roll of copper wire.
“I will continue to deploy as many of these trackers as we can afford too,” said Sheriff Kidd.
According to Santos Recycling in Burley, prices for copper run around $2.30 per pound which is creates a lucrative motive for thieves.
“The police check our books almost weekly,” said Santos representative Donjua Moseley when contacted to ask about their cooperation with law enforcement.
“Sometimes farmers will mark their wire with paint or something but there’s little we can do to identify stolen copper,” said Moseley.
Although there are costs involved with purchasing and activating the trackers, they have proven to be the most effective means of combating theft of this kind throughout Cassia County.
According to Sheriff Kidd, this time of year is when a lot of copper wiring is stolen from farmers who have stopped working for the winter.
Pivot lines that have been torn down for the winter present an easy target.
“Some of it isn’t reported because they [farmers] don’t find it missing until they start farming again in the spring,” said Sheriff Kidd.
The GPS device is a great tool according to the Sheriff’s Office because it greatly improves their capabilities of putting a stop to these types of thefts.
“It’s like fishing,” said Kidd, “You put it out and wait. Sometimes you get a bite and sometimes it never moves, which is a good thing.”
Pivots, either being torn down or constructed, having rolls of copper wire, so they are alike a sign saying, “Here I am,” Kidd said.
But farmers are not the only victims. Thieves strip wire from houses as well, he added.
“It’s a year-round crime,” Kidd said.
“And we’ve found a good way to catch the thieves.”
