ADAMS TWP — A Butler man with a history of stealing scrap metal was allegedly caught last week stealing copper pipes and tampering with a police surveillance camera.

Christopher J. Hrach, 30, was arrested Thursday morning and placed in the Butler County Prison.

Tuesday he waived to court his charges including felony attempt of theft of secondary metal, felony burglary, theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property, criminal trespass, possession of an instrument of crime with intent, criminal mischief, reckless driving and careless driving.

At 4:45 a.m. Hrach was pulled over by an officer with the Adams Township police, who observed him going more than 80 mph on Route 228, according to the criminal complaint.

Hrach allegedly had copper pipes and wire in the bed of his pickup truck, which he claimed he had collected over time.

A search of his vehicle revealed that he was in possession of a trail camera belonging to the township police, according to the complaint.

Two cameras had been placed on the Simakas Company property on Route 228, after scrap metal had been reported stolen off the property one week earlier. The camera, which was labeled as property of the township police department, had been tampered with and had about $150 damage, according to the complaint.

Officers loaded video footage off both the stolen camera and the other one, which was still in place on Simakas’ property. The footage allegedly showed Hrach trespassing and tampering with the police department’s camera.

Employees at Simakas also reported Thursday that stainless steel from a trailer on the property had been moved and piled up elsewhere on the property.

At the hearing Tuesday he had his bail lowered from $40,000 to $10,000 by District Judge Wayne Seibel.

As of this morning, he remained in the county prison.

Hrach has multiple previous convictions on theft, trespassing and drug charges.

In 2013, he was arrested in Adams and charged with stealing more than $7,000 in scrap metal during a seven-month crime spree. He later pleaded guilty to four counts of felony trespassing and received 9 months’ probation.

He was arrested in May 2014 in Cranberry Township and charged with burglary. He later pleaded guilty to burglary and conspiracy charges and was sentenced to a minimum of 11 months in prison.