Victim working at scrap yard busts alleged metal thief
A man who state police said stole various items from a Washington resident’s yard last month was in for quite a surprise when he tried to sell them for cash at a local scrap yard.
Police said John T. Williams took trailer rims, scaffolding and an exhaust manifold from a yard in the 1000 block of Summerlea Avenue Oct. 27 and put the items in the bed of his pickup truck.
He then drove less than a mile to General Alloys Inc. at 135 W. Wylie Ave. in Canton Township, where he planned to sell the items, police said.
However, when Williams drove into the off-loading area to make the deal, a worker recognized the items in the back of the pickup truck and came over to greet the customer. That worker, William Woods, noticed them because they were his belongings he left in his yard, prompting him to immediately confront Williams, police said.
“(Williams) stated that he picked up the items from the house and that the items had been placed at the curbside during trash day,” state police wrote in their criminal complaint.
Woods disputed that assertion, though, noting the items were placed next to his shed, about 40 feet from an alley known as Lark Street that runs behind his house, police said. He took back the rims, scaffolding and exhaust manifold from Williams’ truck and returned them to his home, police said.
Williams, 51, of 200 Lincoln Terrace, Washington, spoke to investigators a few minutes later and maintained he thought they were put by the curb for trash collection.
State police Tuesday filed a charge of theft by unlawful taking against Williams. A preliminary hearing before District Judge Robert Redlinger has not been scheduled.