Cass County man nabs 6 felony charges for stealing copper

CASS COUNTY, Ind. (WLFI) - A joint criminal investigation Monday night netted the arrest of a man who’s facing six felony charges for theft.

According to Indiana State Police (ISP), the Cass County Sheriff’s Office and ISP arrested and booked 52-year-old James Nelson into the Cass County Jail on six class D felony charges.

ISP says between Jan. 18 and Feb. 23, there were six reported thefts of copper tubing made to the Cass County Sheriff’s Office. The thefts took place at four local farms and an area church. The church had copper tubing stolen twice.

During the investigation detectives from ISP received a citizen’s tip that led officers to focus their investigation on Nelson.

Further investigation led to officers discovering evidence at a nearby local metal processing facility, which allegedly connected Nelson to some of the reported thefts.

Cass County Sheriff’s deputies searched Nelson’s vehicle. They said they found tools that could be used to remove copper tubing.

As investigators kept searching, they were able to develop probable cause linking Nelson to all six reported thefts.