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TOOELE — A Tooele man is accused of stealing a forklift and using it to take 6,000 pounds of copper from a railroad car.
Brandon Lynn Ginter, 46, was booked into the Tooele County Jail on Monday for investigation of theft and burglary of a railroad car.
The investigation began on May 23 when police were called to the Utah Industrial Depot in Tooele County on a report that someone had broken into a railcar and stolen 6,000 pounds of copper sheets worth an estimated $25,000, according to a police booking affidavit.
A forklift that was reported stolen two days earlier from another business was recovered in front of the open railcar that had contained the copper sheets, the affidavit states.
On May 25, three people sold 485 pounds of copper to Redwood Recycling, according to police. The business then contacted Rocky Mountain Railcar and Repair after employees were made aware that the copper was stolen. Police responded to the recycling business and recovered all 485 pounds, as well as surveillance video of the suspects.
Two days later, someone tried to sell 591 pounds of copper to a recycling plant in Salt Lake City, the affidavit states. Salt Lake police were called and were able to locate the man selling the copper and pull him over. He told investigators that he was driving Ginter's vehicle, according to the affidavit.
After several more interviews, detectives determined that Ginter, who is a former employee at Utah Industrial Depot, was a suspect, the affidavit states. On Monday, Ginter, who has a lengthy criminal history according to court records, was scheduled to talk to Adult Probation and Parole. When he arrived at his scheduled appointment with his agent, he was taken into custody. When asked if he'd be willing to answer questions, Ginter said to "take him to jail because he doesn't talk to cops," according to the affidavit.
