Second Of Four Suspects Arrested In Copper Theft Case
April 23, 2019 at 11:52 p.m.
Second Of Four Suspects Arrested In Copper Theft Case
By David [email protected]
Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory Chief Mike Wilson told the Board of Public Works and Safety Monday that the case was an example of city departments working together.
Mitchell Allen Dawson, 37, of 5829 W. CR 100N, Warsaw, was booked into the Kosciusko County Jail at 9:16 a.m. Tuesday for burglary. His bond was set at $3,000 surety and $2,500 cash.
Court documents filed April 2 list the charges against him as burglary, a level 5 felony, and theft, a level 6 felony.
Judd Emery Metz, 50, Goshen, was booked into the Kosciusko County Jail on April 16 for burglary, a level 5 felony, and theft, a level 6 felony. His bond was set at $3,000 surety and $2,500 cash.
Also wanted on warrants in the case are Kylelaya Duff, 34, of 702 Ross Ave., Warsaw, for burglary and theft; and Allison N. Foster, 31, of 1796 W. Maple Lane, Claypool, for aiding, inducing or causing theft, a level 6 felony. Their bonds are set at $3,000 surety and $2,500 cash.
Warsaw Police Department officer Brad Kellar received information of a burglary and theft from Arnolt Corp. in Warsaw. He spoke with the caretaker of Arnolt Corp., who asked that the people entering the building and stealing items be held responsible. He said they had stolen copper wire and other metals.
Officers placed surveillance cameras at Arnolt Corp. and on Jan. 21 got a photograph of a person at the building. Video showed several people at the building with their faces covered and one person with glasses and a gray beard; he was identified as Metz.
On Jan. 24 Kellar spoke with Metz, who admitted that sometime between Jan. 14-24 he entered the building. The same day, Metz told Kellar he found a lot of copper lying beside Clunette Road just off Ind. 15. He said he sold that copper.
Kellar learned that on Jan. 21, Metz sold $342.05 of copper to Lewis Salvage. From November to January, Metz sold $907.97 worth of copper and other metals to Lewis Salvage.
Kellar also spoke with Dawson and told him that tools with his name on them were found inside the Arnolt building. Court documents state Dawson admitted that he, Metz and Duff went into the Arnolt building and used his tools to remove the copper. Dawson said Duff opened a transformer to get the copper and oil spilled. He said they stripped about $10,000 of copper from the building over two months.
A press release in January stated quick action by the Warsaw Police Department and Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory is being credited in averting an industrial spill caused by people trying to steal copper from the old Arnolt Corp. building. It was quickly contained after the Fire Territory was able to shut off the source of the oil and contained the spill with absorbents and by blocking a floor drain.
Officials realized the oil contained the potentially toxic chemical PCB, and the incident was reported to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Those two agencies worked with the State Fire Marshal.
All traces of PCB oil were removed by EPA contractors and packaged and taken to appropriate disposal sites.
Court documents state Dawson admitted that Duff had his girlfriend, Foster, sell the copper at Lewis Salvage. He said copper bars were sold at Rochester Iron and Metal. Dawson also said he stole a tractor hood and antique items from the Arnolt building. He provided the hood to Kellar.
On Jan. 28 Kellar spoke with Duff, who admitted he went inside the Arnolt building several times. He said he was in the building in summer 2018 and two or three other times, including January. He said Lewis Salvage “hassles” him when he tries to sell items to them so he has Foster sell for him.
On Jan. 28 Kellar spoke with Foster, who said she sold scrap metal to Lewis Salvage that Duff had obtained. She said she did not know where the metal came from.
Kellar contacted Lewis Salvage and found Foster sold 400 pounds of copper to them for $1,024.50 in December. From October through December, she sold over $1,900 in metal to the business. When Lewis Salvage asked Foster where the copper came from, she would not answer, according to court documents.
At the Board of Works meeting Monday, Wilson said, “I just wanted to thank the Board of Works. This started with the police department, a patrol officer noticing something out of the norm. His due diligence to get out and check the building – he could have drove right on by and not checked it. Because he did, we caught the EPA situation and we were able to stop it, with the EPA’s help and the state’s help. But not only that, the detectives working afterward, being in there in the cold, setting up cameras, trying to find out what was going on.”
He said the street department was able to bring in dirt to make earthen berms to be able to get into the building with equipment. Wastewater utility was able to use its cameras to look at two outlets “that were going away from the property that we had a huge concern over, so that our city engineer could decide what we could do to plug them up.”
Wilson said it was a situation where the departments all worked together “as an emergency action plan to bring things together to help mitigate this problem. It couldn’t just have been done by the fire department. If it wasn’t for the other departments getting involved, we would have a lot more to do.”
On behalf of the fire service, Wilson thanked the Board of Works for the things it does to support the department heads.
“Just another example of a good team coming together to make things work,” he said.
Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory Chief Mike Wilson told the Board of Public Works and Safety Monday that the case was an example of city departments working together.
Mitchell Allen Dawson, 37, of 5829 W. CR 100N, Warsaw, was booked into the Kosciusko County Jail at 9:16 a.m. Tuesday for burglary. His bond was set at $3,000 surety and $2,500 cash.
Court documents filed April 2 list the charges against him as burglary, a level 5 felony, and theft, a level 6 felony.
Judd Emery Metz, 50, Goshen, was booked into the Kosciusko County Jail on April 16 for burglary, a level 5 felony, and theft, a level 6 felony. His bond was set at $3,000 surety and $2,500 cash.
Also wanted on warrants in the case are Kylelaya Duff, 34, of 702 Ross Ave., Warsaw, for burglary and theft; and Allison N. Foster, 31, of 1796 W. Maple Lane, Claypool, for aiding, inducing or causing theft, a level 6 felony. Their bonds are set at $3,000 surety and $2,500 cash.
Warsaw Police Department officer Brad Kellar received information of a burglary and theft from Arnolt Corp. in Warsaw. He spoke with the caretaker of Arnolt Corp., who asked that the people entering the building and stealing items be held responsible. He said they had stolen copper wire and other metals.
Officers placed surveillance cameras at Arnolt Corp. and on Jan. 21 got a photograph of a person at the building. Video showed several people at the building with their faces covered and one person with glasses and a gray beard; he was identified as Metz.
On Jan. 24 Kellar spoke with Metz, who admitted that sometime between Jan. 14-24 he entered the building. The same day, Metz told Kellar he found a lot of copper lying beside Clunette Road just off Ind. 15. He said he sold that copper.
Kellar learned that on Jan. 21, Metz sold $342.05 of copper to Lewis Salvage. From November to January, Metz sold $907.97 worth of copper and other metals to Lewis Salvage.
Kellar also spoke with Dawson and told him that tools with his name on them were found inside the Arnolt building. Court documents state Dawson admitted that he, Metz and Duff went into the Arnolt building and used his tools to remove the copper. Dawson said Duff opened a transformer to get the copper and oil spilled. He said they stripped about $10,000 of copper from the building over two months.
A press release in January stated quick action by the Warsaw Police Department and Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory is being credited in averting an industrial spill caused by people trying to steal copper from the old Arnolt Corp. building. It was quickly contained after the Fire Territory was able to shut off the source of the oil and contained the spill with absorbents and by blocking a floor drain.
Officials realized the oil contained the potentially toxic chemical PCB, and the incident was reported to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Those two agencies worked with the State Fire Marshal.
All traces of PCB oil were removed by EPA contractors and packaged and taken to appropriate disposal sites.
Court documents state Dawson admitted that Duff had his girlfriend, Foster, sell the copper at Lewis Salvage. He said copper bars were sold at Rochester Iron and Metal. Dawson also said he stole a tractor hood and antique items from the Arnolt building. He provided the hood to Kellar.
On Jan. 28 Kellar spoke with Duff, who admitted he went inside the Arnolt building several times. He said he was in the building in summer 2018 and two or three other times, including January. He said Lewis Salvage “hassles” him when he tries to sell items to them so he has Foster sell for him.
On Jan. 28 Kellar spoke with Foster, who said she sold scrap metal to Lewis Salvage that Duff had obtained. She said she did not know where the metal came from.
Kellar contacted Lewis Salvage and found Foster sold 400 pounds of copper to them for $1,024.50 in December. From October through December, she sold over $1,900 in metal to the business. When Lewis Salvage asked Foster where the copper came from, she would not answer, according to court documents.
At the Board of Works meeting Monday, Wilson said, “I just wanted to thank the Board of Works. This started with the police department, a patrol officer noticing something out of the norm. His due diligence to get out and check the building – he could have drove right on by and not checked it. Because he did, we caught the EPA situation and we were able to stop it, with the EPA’s help and the state’s help. But not only that, the detectives working afterward, being in there in the cold, setting up cameras, trying to find out what was going on.”
He said the street department was able to bring in dirt to make earthen berms to be able to get into the building with equipment. Wastewater utility was able to use its cameras to look at two outlets “that were going away from the property that we had a huge concern over, so that our city engineer could decide what we could do to plug them up.”
Wilson said it was a situation where the departments all worked together “as an emergency action plan to bring things together to help mitigate this problem. It couldn’t just have been done by the fire department. If it wasn’t for the other departments getting involved, we would have a lot more to do.”
On behalf of the fire service, Wilson thanked the Board of Works for the things it does to support the department heads.
“Just another example of a good team coming together to make things work,” he said.
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