Waco, Tx (FOX44) – A 27-year-old man is being held on charges he entered a utility company gated yard on multiple occasions, taking heavy wire from service trucks and selling it to a metal recycler.

Thomas David Schobey remained in the McLennan County Jail Wednesday on nine counts of felony theft of copper.

Police began their investigation October 29 when they were called to 3600 Franklin Avenue on a report of a burglary in progress at the Oncor gated facility. An arrest affidavit stated that three men were seen running from the business. One was stopped and identified as Scobey. The others got away. The affidavit stated he told officers he had been on the property but was there to get a charger from a vehicle. The affidavit stated that officers found a half roll of very heavy copper wire and wire cutters in the trunk of his vehicle.

A representative of the company told police they had numerous thefts of copper since July where many rolls of copper were taken from work trucks. They set up a game camera with officers seeing video of the suspects on the property gathering up copper rolls.

Detectives ran a search and saw where Schobey had sold rolls of copper and copper spools at a local recycling facility and obtained photographs that the recycler had taken.

Officers obtained nine complaints of felony theft of copper for Schobey who has since been arrested and placed in the McLennan County Jail.

A total weight or value of the stolen copper was not available.