TOOELE, Utah (ABC4) – A Tooele man was arrested on Monday after he allegedly broke into a railcar and allegedly stole 6,000 pounds of copper with a stolen forklift.
Brandon Lynn Ginter, 46, was arrested on charges of burglary of a railroad car, a second-degree felony, and theft, a second-degree felony, court records state.
On May 23, around 6:52 a.m., officers responded to 1600 W K Ave on a report of a theft. The person who reported the theft told police someone had broken into a railcar and stolen over 6,000 pounds — worth $25,000 — of pure copper sheets.
The victim also told police that only employees or former employees would know where the copper would be.
Two days earlier, on May 21, Valley Forklift noticed that a forklift had been stolen earlier that morning. They said the suspects were driving an SUV pulling a trailer. Later that day, the forklift was recovered by patrol officers after they found it parked in front of the open railcar door, containing the copper sheets, court records state.
On May 25, a man driving a silver Kia Optima took 485 pounds of copper to Redwood Recycling. A woman and a second unknown man allegedly sold the copper.
The business that the two sold the copper to realized it was stolen and contacted the theft victim.
On May 27, the victim received another notification that 591 pounds were being recycled at another recycling business.
Salt Lake City police responded and performed a traffic stop on the suspect car — a 2004 blue Jeep Cherokee.
The car, which was registered to a Tooele woman, was being driven by another man, Eric Zimmerman, who told police that he was driving Ginter’s car.
After more investigation, police discovered that Ginter was a former employee of Utah Industrial Depot and classified him as a suspect after reviewing video surveillance footage.
Ginter was arrested on suspicion of burglary during his Adult Probation and Parole Appointment.
