Last of men who ran criminal enterprise stealing copper wire from local, statewide stores sentenced
The last of seven men who stole and resold copper materials from stores statewide and beyond, including some in the Mount Pleasant area, were sentenced June 21.
Muskegon resident Anthony Schafer II, 24, Pierson resident Joshua Bennett, 26, Sand Lake residents Bruce Walters, 37, Joshua Guiles, 33, and Kevin White, 34, Cedar Springs resident Daniel Johnson, 36, and Grand Rapids resident Austin Vodry, 36, were all charged and convicted of Conducting a Criminal Enterprise after their arrests in 2010.
Isabella County Prosecutor Larry Burdick said the group hit several locations around Mount Pleasant and Isabella County.
“The group targeted Home Depot, Menards, Target and Sam’s Club,” Burdick said.
Detective Jerry Carter of the Michigan State Police said a group of between four and six of the convicted would typically enter a store, then work together to gather spools of copper wire or other valuables and load them into garbage cans or or other containers. Then, part of the group would work to distract cashiers while the others carted the stolen merchandise out the door.
“The group would use this method to steal large quantities of copper wire," Carter said. "They would then strip the wire and sell it for scrap metal."
The Michigan state Police investigation that eventually accumulated enough evidence to arrest and charge the group was led by Detective Jerry Carter of the Mount Pleasant Post, and Detectives Ed Doyle and Mike Morey of the Lakeview and Ionia posts.
Several of the men had appeared in court for similar activity in the past but only received minor charges, Carter said.
“We were aware of some members of the group from an investigation in 2008, but they weren’t charged with anything serious," he said. "After that, we didn’t see much activity until 2010 when huge volumes of wire were going missing from store inventories. That’s when the same people began to show up."
Burdick said it was Carter who most pushed to get the men charged with Conducting a Criminal Enterprise.
“He really took the lead to put together the case," Burdic said. " ... He bumped the charge up from a five-year sentence to a potential 20-year sentence."
In addition to the conviction of Conducting a Criminal Enterprise, many of the seven were also convicted of separate charges, including Retail Fraud First Degree, Felony Retail Theft, and Receiving and Concealing $1,000 to $20,000.
