Chester man charged with Jones & Lamson building copper theft

A Chester man is in jail after denying charges he was behind a string of thefts in the area.

http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=201002100350                 # # # # Chester man charged with Jones & Lamson copper theft Rutland Herald By Josh O'Gorman STAFF WRITER - Published: February 10, 2010 WHITE RIVER JUNCTION – A Chester man is in jail after denying charges he was behind a string of thefts in the area. Joshua E. Bailey, 20, pleaded innocent Tuesday in White River Junction District Court to a felony charge of grand larceny and two misdemeanor charges of petty larceny, which carry a maximum penalty of 12 years in prison and $7,000 in fines. Bailey is being held in Springfield prison on $100 bail. According to affidavits filed with the court, on Dec. 1, Chester Police responded to a burglary complaint at a job site near Route 10. Police learned someone had broken into a job trailer and stolen nearly $9,000 worth of tools, affidavits state. The next day, an employee of the burglarized company told police he had heard Bailey was responsible for the crime, police said. The employee told police he was in contact with Bailey, who reportedly said he had already traded the tools for drugs, but could get them back, records state. Around 10 p.m. Dec. 2, records state, Bailey brought some of the tools to the employee's house and gave the employee an IOU stating he would pay $5,000 for the tools he had stolen Nov. 30 and could not get back. Police took the IOU into evidence and called Bailey, who repeatedly promised to meet with Chester Police, but never showed up at the police station, affidavits state. After taking inventory, police learned there were still 19 tools missing, valued at $3,600, records state. While Chester Police looked for Bailey, he was busy in Springfield, according to additional affidavits. The afternoon of Dec. 2, someone called Springfield Police after watching someone load two stacks of folded copper into a vehicle near the former Jones and Lamson building on Bridge Street. Two days later — Dec. 4 — the witness again called police to report the same person had returned to the same location and police responded and took Bailey into custody, records state. Bailey told police someone had told him to pick up the copper and he thought his actions were legal. Police later spoke with Advanced Recycling in Claremont, N.H., which took Bailey's ID when it paid him $275 for 133 pounds of copper on Dec. 3, records state. Police said they have responded to numerous theft complaints at the former Jones and Lamson building, and an investigation revealed a door had recently been removed from its hinges to allow access to the building.