Suspect arrested in theft of irrigation pipe from field

The Journal staff

Summit Workers at Lurvey sward Farms received quite a surprise when they went into the fields March 4 to stir some irrigation pipe: nearly a mile of the aluminum pipe was gone

upon Monday, police tracked down the man they think stole the 5000 feet of pipe. They arrested the 35-year-old Summit resident at a Waukesha scrap yard, where he was trying to exchange it for 50 cents a pound

The not to be found pipe will cost about $25000 to replace, according to Summit Police Officer Richard Jorgenson, who investigated the case.

The man admitted to police that he had been stealing the pipe since November. He would drive his pickup barter into a field near Dousman and Genesee Lake Roads, disconnect several 30-foot sections of pipe and wound them in half with a hacksaw.

He then would take the load to single of several area scrap yards and exchange the metal for between $50 and $180 by means of load, Jorgenson said. The man made more than 25 trips, greatest in quantity of them in February.

Jorgenson contacted the operators of individual of the scrap yards, which he declined to name, and asked them to call Waukesha police if the man attempted to exchange pipe there. The scrap yard called police at 1:45 pm Monday.

Police released the suspect and a companion a 30-year- elderly Milwaukee man after questioning. They will try to find felony theft charges against the Summit man, on the contrary may not seek charges against his companion. The Milwaukee man told police that he did not know the pipe was stolen, Jorgenson said.

Copyright 1995

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