CLEARFIELD – A Houtzdale man accused of stealing copper wire valued from $30,000 to $50,000 was scheduled for a preliminary hearing Wednesday.
Mason William Miles, 29, was charged by state police with felony theft of secondary metal, misdemeanor receiving stolen property and a summary count of defiant trespass in January.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, the theft occurred sometime between Jan. 10 and Jan. 12 at a Woodward Township business.
The thief removed two large spools of copper wire wrapped with black rubber insulation which was sitting unsecured and unattended on two wooden pallets behind a white trailer/storage unit.
A detective from Penn State University Police contacted state police saying he was investigating two men he suspected in multiple thefts involving copper on construction sites on the university’s property. One of these suspects was Miles.
This detective served a search warrant on Miles and seized his cell phone. The phone reportedly had a photo of 100 foot diameter copper wire in the trunk of a white vehicle which was taken at Miles’s residence.
The phone also showed that Miles had searched recent news articles on the theft. In addition, there were text messages connecting him to other copper and catalytic converter thefts, police said.
The detective told police Miles confessed his involvement in all the incidents that officer was investigating and stated the copper was sold to a metal recycling center in Clearfield.
Miles waived his right to a preliminary hearing during centralized court, sending the case on to the county court. His bail is set at $200,000, unsecured.
Online court documents indicate Miles has been charged in Centre County with conspiracy/burglary and conspiracy/defiant trespass in an incident on Dec. 25; burglary, criminal trespass, two counts of theft by unlawful taking, theft of secondary metal, two counts of receiving stolen property, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, and summary counts of defiant trespass and criminal mischief for his actions on Dec. 19 and conspiracy/burglary, conspiracy/theft of secondary metal, and conspiracy receiving stolen property for thefts on Dec. 1.