Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
LITTLE COTTONWOOD CANYON — Two men were arrested Monday for allegedly stealing copper wire near the Temple Quarry Trail at the base of Little Cottonwood Canyon.
Brent Pinney, 60, and Robert Patrick McKevitt Jr., 29, were arrested for investigation of stealing nearly $10,000 worth of copper and causing "tens of thousands of dollars in damage," according to Unified police detective Ken Hansen.
Pinney and McKevitt were found Monday at a white Dodge Durango parked near the trail, an area where several copper thefts have recently occurred and a similar vehicle has been seen, according to a jail report.
In the truck, police found a gun along with wood and wire cutting tools, Hansen said.
Hansen said the stolen copper wire was cut from power poles in the canyon and then sold to metal buyers.
According to the jail report, McKevitt told police that "several thousand feet of wire" had been taken and that additional wire had been taken in recent weeks. McKevitt told police that he and Pinney had been cutting the wire for much of the night and returned in the morning to get it, the report states.
Police estimate that sellers could make about $800 for every 1,000 feet of copper sold, Hansen said.
Police are working to recover the copper. Meanwhile, Hansen said police are following up on information about who else may have been involved in "this criminal enterprise."
McKevitt told the police that his father, stepmother and a man named "Brent" were also involved in the theft, the jail report states.
Contributing: Andrew Adams
