Charges filed against 3 in eastern Utah copper-wire thefts

ROOSEVELT — Prosecutors in Duchesne and Uintah counties have filed charges against three men in connection with the theft of copper wire from two different companies.

Mike W. Reickenbacker, 42, and Troy L. Taylor, 38, were each charged April 14 in Duchesne County for allegedly stealing 518 pounds of copper wire from Moon Lake Electric Association's yard in Roosevelt on March 13.

Reickenbacker faces one second-degree felony theft charge, two third-degree felony burglary charges, and a third-degree felony theft charge. Taylor is charged with one count each of theft, burglary, and theft by receiving stolen property, all third-degree felonies.

According to a probable cause affidavit filed by Duchesne County sheriff's detective Dan Bruso, police in Pleasant Grove arrested the men on drug charges while they were trying to sell the wire at a recycling plant in Utah County.

Pleasant Grove police also told sheriff's investigators that they recovered a laptop computer and cell phone that had been stolen from Moon Lake Electric during the March 13 burglary.

Bruso and sheriff's Lt. Travis Tucker traveled to the Utah County Jail and interviewed Reickenbacker and Taylor. Bruso said both men, after being advised of their rights, admitted to entering the Moon Lake yard through a hole in the fence and loading the wire onto a trailer they had brought with them.

The detective said Reickenbacker also admitted to stealing a $27,000 infrared video camera during the break-in.

In an unrelated case, prosecutors in Uintah County filed charges on April 16 against 25-year-old Danny James Winner after he allegedly stole thousands of dollars worth of copper wire and a truck from a work site in the Book Cliffs.

Uintah County Sheriff's Lt. John Laursen said Winner entered a Pyramid Electrical Co. yard at about 4 a.m. on April 14 and loaded the wire onto one of the company's trucks. Investigators received information after the theft that led them to search a section of Colorado highway 318, near Maybell, Colo.

Laursen said a Moffat County sheriff's deputy located the truck and saw a person, later identified as Winner, run away from it.

Detectives from Uintah County joined officers with the Colorado Division of Wildlife, Moffat County deputies and a U.S. Bureau of Land Management ranger in a search for Winner. Laursen said the three-hour search was aided by air patrols conducted by Colorado wildlife officers, who spotted Winner hiding in the brush.

Officers said Winner tried again to flee on foot after being seen, but was chased down by a BLM ranger in a truck.

Laursen said the truck Winner is accused of stealing had run out of gas.

Winner remains in the Moffat County Jail on Colorado charges. He is awaiting extradition to Utah where he faces charges of theft, burglary, and criminal mischief.

No court dates have been set for Reickenbacker, Taylor or Winner.

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E-mail: geoff@ubstandard.com