Copper Caper Bandits

 Sandyland Farms is a quality grower of vegetables and grains. But for the last couple of years, they have been the prime target for thieves that will stop at nothing to get what they want. And what they seem to want from Sandyland Farms is copper. Farmers need to keep their crops watered, and to do that they use what are known as “center pivot irrigation systems” which are actually gigantic sprinklers that contain anywhere from 360 to 620 feet of copper tubing per unit. It seems that this copper tubing is a forbidden fruit for would be thieves to steal and sell to scrap yards, which will pay anywhere from fifty cents to a dollar a pound for the precious metal.

 Each center pivot irrigation unit can contain as much as 330 pounds of copper. This may look like a nice pay day for a thief, But it is actually small potatoes. According to one of the owners of Sandyland Farms to repair and replace the stolen copper can cost as much as $9000.00. That’s why back on 11/19/07 when it was discovered that the tubing tabs on one of the irrigation units at a Morley location had been vandalized, the state police were called out to investigate.

 The police decided to keep a close watch for any suspicious activity,
and on the following night the bandits had returned to finish their deeds,
but they were met and arrested by the police who took them to the Mecosta County Jail.
One of the bandits involved in the heist was Jay Allen Miller of Grand Rapids.
He was sentenced on 01/14/08 and received 9 months in the Mecosta County 
jail and given fines and restitution of $3776.80 He was found guilty of Larceny
MCL 750.356 a five year felony.

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