close

Two arrested for copper theft at Emerald Mine

3 min read
article image -

WAYNESBURG – A Spraggs man who was arrested in August for a burglary at Emerald Mine in Franklin Township allegedly returned three days later and was arrested again, according to court documents.

David Michael Renner, 37, of 627 Rudolph Run Road, and his co-defendant Joel Ray Barlow, 25, of Fairview, W.Va., were each charged by state police Friday with burglary, theft and criminal mischief following several incidents over the summer.

Police said about 2:20 a.m. Aug. 1, Renner and Barlow broke into two houses owned by Alpha Natural Resources to store large mining equipment on Route 19 at Laural Run Road. The two men allegedly cut $3,971 worth of copper wire from equipment in the buildings, before leaving the area.

The men were not arrested until Aug. 28, when police received a call to the same location for the report that they were trying to steal more copper. Police arrested them at the scene, where Renner allegedly admitted to police they stole the copper and sold it to Cherokee Recycling in Uniontown for $1,000.

But just three days before that, on Aug. 25, Renner was arrested for allegedly breaking into the same Emerald Mine location with a different co-defendant, Cecil Haymen McGee III, 40, of Morgantown, W.Va.

Police said Renner and McGee went to the mine portal just before 1 a.m. and broke into a compressor building, before cutting and damaging several cables. According to the criminal complaint, a security guard notified police the men were on the property, and Renner and McGee were each charged with burglary, conspiracy to burglary, criminal trespass, possession of an instrument of crime, prowling at night and criminal mischief.

Barlow was previously charged by a state wildlife conservation officer in June with illegally burning copper and rubber on hunter access property that’s closed to motor vehicles on Walnut Hill Road in Dunkard Township.

Both Barlow and his co-defendant in that case, David Paul Garber, 33, of Mt. Morris, had allegedly stolen the license plate on the truck they were driving June 16, before burning copper and rubber on the property. According to the criminal complaint, Garber gave police a false statement as to where they obtained the copper.

They were charged with theft, possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and four summary offenses relating to littering and driving on the property. Barlow, who was arrested on an outstanding warrant, also faced a second count of theft in that case.

The preliminary hearing for Barlow’s case with Garber is scheduled for 10 a.m. Oct. 4. Barlow’s preliminary hearing in the new case with Renner has not yet been set. Both Barlow and Renner are free on bond.

CUSTOMER LOGIN

If you have an account and are registered for online access, sign in with your email address and password below.

NEW CUSTOMERS/UNREGISTERED ACCOUNTS

Never been a subscriber and want to subscribe, click the Subscribe button below.

Starting at $3.75/week.

Subscribe Today