NEWS
By Kevin Rector, The Baltimore Sun | May 16, 2012
Two copper-theft suspects arrested Tuesday on the Spring Grove Hospital Center campus in Catonsville have been charged with burglary, theft and destruction of property, according to Maryland State Police. Police have also recovered more than 130 pounds of copper pipe the pair had collected before their arrests, which state police said would be worth about $400 if sold as scrap. Charged were Dennis W. Dyer, 43, of the 8100 block of Mild Haven Road in Dundalk, and Matthew R. Blizzard, 29, who police believe lives in the Baltimore County men's homeless shelter off Wade Ave. on the psychiatric hospital's campus.
NEWS
By Peter Hermann | May 16, 2012
A day after Baltimore County police set up a task force to target metal thieves who strip homes and businesses, tactical officers found themselves surrounding an abandoned state hospital building where two men were trying to steal copper pipes. Someone called about two suspicious men in an asbestos-laden building at Spring Grove State Hospital in Catonsville on Tuesday afternoon. The bystander saw the men carrying crow-bars and saws into the building, closed since 1974, according to Maryland State Police.
NEWS
By Peter Hermann | May 15, 2012
As discussed on Monday, Baltimore County police announced a task force to combat the growing problem of metals theft. The Sun's Arthur Hirsch writes about the new program, and some other unique ways to go after the thieves. Baltimore Gas and Electric is going to start painting its copper wires lime green, so that when they show up at recycling plants, the person behind the counter will know they're stolen and not offer money. Thieves stole so much BGE wire earlier this year that it knocked out power to homes in Essex.
NEWS
By Peter Hermann | May 14, 2012
Baltimore County police are announcing today a new task force to combat the growing problem of metals theft that his hitting homeowners and businesses throughout the region. The Metal Thefts Team is being called the area's first law enforcement group dedicated to investigating the thefts, which include everything from ripping copper gutters off homes to breaking into Baltimore Gas and Electric facilities and taking electronic devices. The president of BGE, Ken DeFontes, is expected to join Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz and Police Chief Jim Johnson at the announcement, at a BGE training center in White Marsh.
NEWS
By Arthur Hirsch, The Baltimore Sun | May 14, 2012
After the power failed in an Essex neighborhood earlier this year, BGE officials discovered that someone had been stealing copper wire from the tops of utility poles. Oddly enough, however, they found no marks on the poles indicating that the culprit had climbed roughly 40 feet to reach the wire. Baltimore County police figured they might have their suspect when an officer on patrol in Dundalk spotted an unmarked white Ford van equipped with a bucket lift, and a man alongside the van stripping insulation from copper wire, according to a police report.
NEWS
Tricia Bishop | May 11, 2012
A 32-year-old Germantown woman pleaded guilty Friday to using a government credit card for personal use, buying 119 iPads, a mattress set and house cleaning services, according to the Maryland U.S. attorney's office. Tamia M. McCoy, a former employee for the National Institutes of Health, faces up to 10 years in prison at her sentencing in Baltimore's U.S. district court, set for July 26. In all, she stole between $70,000 and $120,000 prosecutors said. “McCoy brazenly sought to profit at the behest of tax payer dollars.