Published: September 04, 2008 11:22 pm            

Suspected copper thieves arrested

Vehicle seen pulling away from AT&T at 3 a.m.

The ashes and piles of burnt steel tubing, scattered in the woods behind an abandoned east side residence, attest to high price of copper these days.

The lure of copper wire Thursday landed a Kokomo couple in jail on theft charges, after they allegedly stole about $67,000 worth of wiring from the AT&T facility off Alto Road.

Kokomo police, who had been trying to catch someone in the act for weeks, were in the right place at the right time when Phillip Talley, 43, and Tamara Jo Dalton, 44, pulled up to the phone repair facility in the dead of night.

Dalton and Talley loaded about 115 feet of 11/2-inch thick wire into a vehicle and drove away, unaware they were being watched, according to police.

Kokomo Police Detective Michael Banush said the suspects, after being apprehended, led police to their preferred spot for burning the coating off the valuable copper.

“They melt the plastic cover off, and then slice open the metal casing underneath,” Banush said, pointing to the pile of casings tossed into the woods. The thieves then burn the plastic off all the individual wires which were bundled inside the casing.

Detectives were busy Thursday trying to locate where Talley and Dalton had allegedly sold copper in recent months. Even though the wiring they allegedly stole from AT&T was worth thousands, police estimate the couple would have only netted a few hundred dollars from scrap metal dealers for the remnants.

Banush said the two dealers in town that purchase salvage metal, Newlon Metals and OmniSource, both keep records of who they buy from. Unfortunately, thieves can take their haul to other businesses, out-of-town, where no records are kept.

It’s frustrating for police, who have been hit with dozens of reports of air conditioners being stolen, piping and wiring ripped out of unattended homes, and other metal thefts this summer.

“The downfall for us is that it is just [charged as] theft,” Banush said.

As he and Kokomo Lt. Don Whitehead were leaving the wooded area where Talley and Dalton had allegedly burned the wiring, a woman at a nearby home inquired what they were doing in the woods.

Upon being informed they were police looking into metal thefts, the woman said one of her relatives had questioned what Talley was doing on the property a couple of weeks back.

She said Talley, who had once worked for one of her family members, said he’d OK’d going back on the property with that individual, and no more was made of it.

“The manager at AT&T here estimated that this last year, they lost about $200,000 worth of wiring,” Banush said. “It was probably a lot more than that.”

Talley was charged with theft, a Class D felony, and Dalton was charged with aiding, inducing, or causing theft, also a Class D felony. Both are being held in the Howard County jail. This case remains under investigation.

Anyone having further information regarding this or any investigation is asked to contact the Kokomo Police Hotline at (765) 456-7017, or you may qualify for a cash reward by calling Central Indiana Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS with your anonymous tip.

Scott Smith may be reached at (765) 454-8569 or via e-mail at scott.smith@kokomotribune.com

        

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