Copper Pipe Theft Leads Cops to Butler Man

A Butler man was arrested in Bloomingdale on Thursday for allegedly stealing a garbage can full of scrap metal from a Ridge Road residence, police said.

Marc Francekevich, 46, of Butler was pulled over after a resident informed police she saw a “skinny white male with a crew cut” take the metal from a neighbor's home on Ridge Road in Morse Lakes.

She told police she saw a man “take a garbage can that contained a collection of scrap metal including copper piping from the residence” and leave in a small red Ford pickup, said Bloomingdale Patrolman Daniel Fletcher.

The can was described as next to the home and not near the road to be collected as garbage.

Police pulled over the vehicle matching the description on Main Street and identified the driver as Francekevich.

“In the rear of his truck along with various construction debris was found a garbage can with an amount of scrap metal including copper piping,” said Fletcher.

“When questioned about the can with scrap metal, Francekevich acknowledged that he had been in Morse Lakes, but had picked up the item near the roadside as garbage.”

The resident who made the call to police went to where Fletcher was pulled over and told police he was the man she had seen earlier. She also told police that the can was not put out near the road.

Francekevich was arrested and transported to headquarters where he was charged with theft and released pending a court appearance.