2 Men Arrested In Copper Wire Thefts

FORT PIERCE, Fla. - WPBF.com

St. Lucie County sheriff's detectives have arrested two men accused of stealing copper wire from a Fort Pierce electric company.

Jimmy Mendoza, 23, and Charles Crooks, 25, were arrested Monday on burglary and theft charges. Detectives said the men stole about 400 pounds of copper wire from Matula Electric Co. on two separate occasions.

After the first theft Oct. 20, the company installed an infrared security camera. Surveillance photos from two other thefts -- the most recent of which occurred Friday -- were released to the media, and detectives said they received several anonymous telephone calls identifying Mendoza in Friday's theft.

Detectives said Mendoza identified Crooks as the culprit in the Oct. 20 theft.

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