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Scrap metal buyer: 'We can compile quite a bit of evidence'


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JUNCTION CITY, Ore. - Crews labored in the summer swelter to restore phone service to customers in the wake of a wire theft near Junction City on Tuesday.


The wire disappeared at 5 a.m. Tuesday.


"Some people came by cut down one of our poles and dragged the cable down the road," said Jason Johannesen, CenturyLink area manager for Eugene.


Crews got service restored around 7 p.m. Tuesday.


Investigators said thieves stole about 600 feet of copper wire, now worth about $1,400 on the open market.


"It's been on the increase with the rise in cost of copper," Johannesen said.


A tip later led deputies to a secluded spot on public lands, where they found a man and the wire. The man now faces theft and other charges. <>><>><>> More on the arrest


Metal theft is a crime that has plagued Oregon, especially when prices are high.


"When the price is high it is a good incentive for a person to try to get something for nothing," said Andrew Jones with Burcham's Metals in Albany.


Burcham's Metals receives regular reports of metal theft - two on Tuesday alone.


Jones said high unemployment and drug use drive people to cash in on copper and other metals to the tune of $3 per pound.


"Anything suspicious we report to law enforcement within 24 hours," Jones said.


Burcham's works with the county sheriff and police to nab thieves under a set of rules set by the state in 2010.


Under Senate Bill 570, scrap yards must hold payment for three days, copy a seller's ID and photograph all materials for record keeping.


"We can compile quite a bit of evidence in case something is stolen," he said.


But Jones says the law can't catch everyone.


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And he said the law may be an incentive for thieves to take stolen metals across state lines, making metal theft a nationwide problem that worsens as the economy flounders.

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