Copper the prize for thieves Washington County experiences surge in theft of metal

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MEDDYBEMPS – Copper is a hot commodity and a new brand of thieves has been stealing copper from houses and junkyards and selling it to scrap metal dealers.

In the past few weeks, there have been several break-ins in houses in the western part of Washington County where copper pipes were ripped out of the walls.

Then on Sunday and Monday, four people were arrested in two separate incidents in connection with the attempted theft of copper from what is known locally as Smith’s Junkyard on Route 191.

According to police, the metal is being taken to other parts of the state and sold, reportedly for more than twice what it sold for per pound last year, depending on the buyer. Current prices range from $1.95 to $2.15 per pound.

But not all scrap metal companies buy everything that is peddled to them.

Brian McAvoy, general manager for Industrial Metal Recycling in Bangor, said Wednesday that his company works with police. He also said the company tries to be careful about the source of the metal they purchase.

“We assist the officers all we can with whatever they need,” McAvoy said. He said that on occasion they do catch people who do not come by the metal honestly. He did not elaborate.

McAvoy said that another measure his company takes is to issue a check for anything more than $100. He said that helps because cashing a check often requires identification, leaving a trail for police to follow.

“The price is really right [in Washington County] right now,” Sgt. Tim Varney of the Maine State Police said on Wednesday. “I guess it’s easy picking and easy taking from junk salvage yards. They are even going into homes and taking the copper out of the house.”

Melvin Winchester and Dawn Smith-Winchester, who now operate Smith’s Junkyard, returned to the junkyard around 6 p.m. Sunday and found that the chain had been cut, according to police. “They found people loading copper wire into a pick-up truck,” Varney said. The couple held a woman and what is believed to be her two male companions at gunpoint, but the men apparently ran off before police arrived.

Megan Verrill, 21, of Holden was arrested at the junkyard.

The Maine Warden Service’s K-9 unit was called and began a search of the woods.

Warden Jim Martin found David Michaud, 25, of Lee later and arrested him. Verrill and Michaud have been charged with theft.

“I had a resident come up and ask if we were looking for a guy with tattoos on his arms,” Martin said Wednesday. Michaud was walking in the area of the bridge near the Dennys River. The warden said he was about 30 seconds away from there and was able to arrest Michaud without incident.

“He was willing to swap mosquitoes for handcuffs,” Martin added.

But the copper-napping didn’t stop there. Deputy Travis Willey of the Washington County Sheriff’s Department said Wednesday that around 6 p.m. Monday, Dawn Winchester, along with other family members, apprehended two more people at the junkyard and called police.

Richard Carson, 24, of Guilford and Derek Cole, 26, of Dover-Foxcroft were arrested. They both were charged with theft.

Willey said that police speculate the two who tried to steal the copper on Monday night were somehow connected with the people involved in Sunday night’s attempted theft.

“I have reason to believe that one of the gentlemen who got away the night before solicited these two gentlemen to come down and finish the job,” Willey said.

Asked why this kind of theft is increasing in Washington County, Sgt. Varney said that they might be just picking out junkyards around the state.

“These people are traveling,” Varney warned.

The attorney general’s office referred all calls on the copper-napping to the district attorney’s office.

District Attorney Michael Povich said Wednesday he had not yet had an opportunity to review the reports, but said that his office took such crimes seriously.

“These are serious property crimes. It makes no difference what you’re stealing,” he said. “What we look at is the value. Stuff over $1,000 fair market value – doesn’t matter if it’s copper wire, a stove or money. Property is property,” he said.

The district attorney said there were similar incidents about 15 years ago. “It’s a reflection of the economy; copper is valuable right now,” he said.

This is not the first time that Smith’s Junkyard has been in the news.

The owner, Harry J. Smith Jr., has been convicted of hazardous waste crimes and is still in a Massachusetts jail awaiting extradition to Maine.

Since the 1980s, the junkyard owned by Smith, who is believed to be 65, and other family members has been operated on four parcels of land along Route 191 and Route 214 in Meddybemps. Smith stored on the properties some of the military supplies and equipment he purchased from the U.S. Department of Defense.

The land was placed on the federal Superfund list more than 20 years ago, but cleanup and remediation have been delayed.

Smith remains at the Nashua Street Jail in Boston awaiting extradition to Washington County.

Assistant Attorney General Leanne Robbin said Wednesday that Smith has been fighting extradition. A hearing has been scheduled for August.