Men Charged With Copper Wire Theft

Police have charged two Coventry men with stealing copper wire from cell phone towers in East Providence -- part of $50,000 worth of copper wire stolen by them in Coventry, East Greenwich and East Providence.

On Feb. 6, Coventry Police Officer Jadine Ferri observed a suspicious vehicle operating on Johnsons Boulevard in Coventry and made note of several large items in the rear of the vehicle.

The vehicle then stopped in front of a residence at 90 Johnsons Boulevard. Ferri passed her observations on to Coventry detectives, who began a stakeout of the now parked vehicle. 

At about 10:19 a.m. a male, later identified as Greg Waldron, 33, of 315 Station St., entered the vehicle and headed south on Hopkins Hill Road.

The vehicle was followed a short distance by detectives and later stopped on Hopkins Hill Road by marked patrol cars where officers discovered copper coils stolen from cell phone towers in East Providence in the rear of Waldron’s vehicle.

Waldron was arrested for possession of the stolen items, possession of burglary tools and possession of heroin. He was arraigned and held as a violator.  

After further investigation, detectives executed a search warrant at 90 Johnsons Boulevard where they recovered more than $50,000 worth of copper coils and piping suspected to be stolen from cell phone towers throughout the area.

After the search, Joshua Fleming, 32, of 90 Johnsons Blvd. was arrested and charged with receiving stolen goods -- a felony when valued above $1,500. He was also held as a violator. 

Items recovered during the search of Fleming's home led to additional charges agains the two men by the RI State Police and East Greenwich police .