A 51-year-old man has been arrested in connection with a string of copper wire thefts in the Tucson area.
According to a news release from Tucson Police Department, Robert Joseph Carrillo was allegedly linked to five separate metal theft incidents occurring between Sept. 12 and Nov. 6.
Multiple streetlights throughout the city were targeted, the news release said, with copper wiring removed and sold to scrap yards shortly after each theft.
Investigators estimate that Carrillo scrapped more than half-a-ton of copper wire during the course of the thefts, the news release said. The estimated damage to city-owned utilities exceeds $46,000.
TPD executed a warrant at Carrillo's last known location in midtown on Nov. 6, where they found additional evidence connected to the wire thefts, along with methamphetamine.
Large bins of stolen copper wire were eventually recovered.
Carrllo has been charged with 12 counts of third-degree burglary, 12 counts of criminal damage and 12 counts of trafficking in stolen property.
