Call this a missing owner report from the Little Rock Police Department’s Sgt. Cassandra Davis.
Jan. 4, police found a Pine Bluff man in possession of spools of copper wire on Stagecoach Road. The man was burning insulation off what appeared to be new spools of wire. He had nine undamaged spools and 5 or 6 with insulation burned off. Police confiscated the copper wire, believing it to be stolen. The man was told if he could provide proof of ownership, the wire would be returned. He was issued a citation for illegal burning.
Not quite a week later, the same man was stopped after dark in Benny Craig Park and he was found in possesson of nine spools of wire still wrapped in clear plastic (also a small amount of marijuana). Those spools also were confiscated and the man was again told to contact detectives with proof of ownership. He was charged with possession of marijuana, too.
The man has never presented proof of ownership, but has tried several times to reclaim the spools from the police property room. The spools, Davis said, are worth $566 each at retail or more than $13,000 altogether. Sold for scrap the value is far less, she said, about $150 per roll.
The police is again putting out a call for potential owners of the copper wire. Said Davis in a release: “We believe the copper spools were stolen however if we cannot find a viable victim, then the spools have to be released” to the man from whom they were taken.