DURHAM, N.C. (WNCN) — Police have accused a Durham man of stealing copper wire from multiple people and selling it to a recycling company.
The Durham County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday that Frederick Jermaine Pullen Jr., 48, faces five charges related to a string of thefts of the wire from people’s homes.
He was arrested Tuesday and released after receiving an unsecured $5,000 bond by a magistrate.
Deputies responded to a call on April 16 in the 3400 block of Hersey Street in which a resident said his copper wire was missing and showed surveillance photos of someone removing about 100 pounds of wire from a porch.
Six days later, deputies were called to the 900 block of Valment Drive and found a broken lock on a shed behind the house. The person living there said two containers of copper wire had been taken.
During the investigation, deputies learned the stolen wire was sold to a recycling company. Evidence at that facility and descriptions from both crime scenes led investigators to Pullen, deputies said.
Pullen is charged with:
— Breaking and entering.
— Obtaining property by false pretense.
— Injury to property to obtain nonferrous metals.
— Second-degree trespassing.
— Misdemeanor larceny.