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Man Busted Trying To Sell Stolen Copper Wire
July 19, 2012
A man has been arrested in Escambia County, Fla., for trying to sell copper allegedly stolen from ThyssenKrupp near Mobile.
Charles Edward Hawkes, age 33 of Atmore, was charged with felony dealing in stolen property. He was later released from the Escambia County Jail on a $7,500 bond.
Hawkes allegedly tried to sell a large amount of industrial grade copper wiring to Wise Recycling on Hope Drive. Employees of the recycling company called the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office to verify that the wire was not stolen; they said that industrial grade copper wiring must be sold to them only a licensed electrician.
Hawkes told deputies he was employed by Labor Finders at a Piedmont Mechanical job site at ThyssenKrupp. He said the wiring was scrap that was left for anyone take. A Piedmont Mechanical superintendent verified that Hawkes worked on the job site, but he told deputies that no permission was given to take the wiring. A ThyssenKrupp employee also told deputies that the wiring was not free for the taking.
The Mobile County Sheriff’s Office will investigate the actual wiring theft that occurred in their county.
Comments
13 Responses to “Man Busted Trying To Sell Stolen Copper Wire”
He could have said I found it on the side of the road and no one could have proved otherwise. The point being I do not believe Mr Hawkes set out to steal from Thyssenkrupp, he saw the wire on the ground and presumed it was going to be discarded.
He may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer but it does not sound to me like he is a hardcore thief, just uninformed. It might not be a bad idea to brief all employees regarding scrap materiel and have them sign off acknowledging the briefing. I pick up nuts and bolts, washers, screws when I see them on the ground, a good piece of copper wire too.
We don’t hate the guy – we hate the thief. Love the sinner, hate the sin.
@ amom
Regardless of how you feel about “good” materials being buried, they do belong to the company, and therefore are the company’s to dispose of as they wish. Since permission was not given to take the wire, it was stolen. That’s pretty black and white to me.
If you think it’s criminal to “waste” materials this way, do something about it by calling your local representatives. Most companies would love to donate unused, unneeded materials for worthy projects, even if to just get the tax credit for charitable donations! Don’t defend criminal actions by qualifying when it’s OK to steal and when it’s not.
@ Postal- I’m assuming they mean very large heavy wire. I’m sure Wise is on high alert after the mess they had a few months back. They saw this stuff and called the cops.
His Family is NOT proud of him.. But they all do still LOVE him..
You folks must really hate this guy.
I know that I don’t know everything, but I have been pulling wire since 1984: can someone explain to me what industrial grade copper wire is?
Almost every time NE.com reports about those who commit crimes, the bleeding hearts come out of the woodwork about ” oh he was a good guy, “she didn’t mean to do it” ENOUGH ALREADY! they made the choice to live outside the law for whatever reason… to feed the kids, a drug habit… they steal, they maim, they murder…they are criminals put them away for a long time…we need to send the message loud and clear …were fed up and were not going to back down… the teen that got 20 years…good riddance! same with this thief go to jail, directly to jail… and to those that want to rebut this…dont waste your breath…have a nice day
To amom, stealing is WRONG. You are reading the Bible wrong, cause its in there. Scripture twisting FAIL.
Okay~ I know his family and they are good people. And no, they would not be proud…neither would you if it were yours. Maybe he did wrong, but if you ever worked at huge plants, you’d know that they haul off and bury or whatever good, reusable stuff all the time. They’d rather destroy it so no one else could get any good out of it. That is a crime! I’m sorry this happened, maybe he needed something for his family and couldn’t afford it otherwise~at least he was working, trying to provide for his family instead of like soooo many who just sit at home, making babies so they can get a bigger paycheck and more foodstamps! Walk a while in someone else’s shoes before being mean and hurtful. If you or any of yours have NEVER made a mistake (however large or small) count your blessings, but just remember, “whatever you cause to happen to others, good or bad, God will cause to happen to you” What goes around comes around~
He’s just a plain thief, it has nothing to do with economic times, he’s just a common low life thief who takes others’ property. If there were no market for stolen copper tubing and wire, this stuff would slow down. Fortunately, Wise did the right thing. Maybe the other scrapyards will follow suit.
I knew this guy when we were younger and about a year or so ago my uncle who lives in Mobile called me to see what kind of person he was because he was trying to get a job working for him. I told my uncle that from what I remembered that he was a pretty good guy. Well just a few months later my uncle had to fire him because he was doing the same thing. He stole a bunch of power tools and was taking them to local pawn shops over there. Oh well…I hope he’s convicted and does a little time.
He must not have got the memo that his friends that used to work at Wise had already been busted in that air conditioner scam/theft ring bust a few months back. He should check his email more often. This is what happens when you’re out of the loop.
Bitting the hand that feeds you is not a good idea.
What is wrong with some people? In the middle of some of the toughest economic times that have ever hit this country and this guy is fortunate enough to have a job. How does he show gratitude to the Lord above for providing for him? by stealing from the job that pays him. What a first class citizen. I hope his family and friends are proud of him.