Charges filed against alleged scrap metal thieves

Criminal complaints have been filed against the two Somerton men arrested for allegedly stealing scrap metal from a south county scrap yard over the weekend.
 
Daniel Munoz Paz, 48, and Xavier Munoz Paz, 46, both of Somerton, were each charged with two felony counts of burglary, two felony counts of theft and one count of felony possession of burglary tools.
 
Both men were arrested by Yuma County sheriff's deputies on Saturday morning as part of the department's ongoing efforts to combat scrap metal thefts locally.
 
They were arraigned on Wednesday in Yuma Justice Court before Justice of the Peace David Cooper, who ordered their bonds remain at $7,425 each.
 
The judge also appointed the Yuma County Public Defender's Office to represent them. According to Justice Court officials both men, who are still in custody, have been indicted on the charges and will next appear in Superior Court where they will enter their pleas to the charges against them.
 
According to Capt. Eben Bratcher of the Yuma County Sheriff's Office, deputies have been conducting intensified patrols in areas known to be frequented by scrappers.
 
The arrests came after a sheriff's deputy discovered two people inside the commercial yard at P and S Salvage, 9345 S. Somerton Ave., on Saturday shortly before 4 a.m., according to the sheriff's office.
 
The suspects, according to the sheriff's office, had a truck-load of scrap metal which they had stolen from the business.
 
The sheriff's office has reported seeing an increase in the number of scrap metal thefts throughout the county recently, especially in irrigation pumps, which are typically in remote areas.
 
Sheriff officials have also said copper wire and aluminum piping are what the metal thieves seem to be targeting the most. They usually steal those items from businesses, warehouses, farming operations and homes that are under construction.
 
Investigators from YCSO believe many of the thieves are selling the metal to recyclers in neighboring San Luis Rio Colorado, Son., where they can get almost double the money at a recycler there than they can here, he added.
 
The sheriff's office previously said it receives an average of two reports of stolen metal each week.


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James Gilbert can be reached at jgilbert@yumasun.com or 539-6854.