A suspected scrapper linked to more than $30,000 in pilfered metal and other property was found with a stolen handgun after state police nabbed him Saturday in Butler.

Troopers had been looking for Zachary A. Atwell, 24, of Harrisville since late October in connection with an investigation of scrap metal thefts in Butler and Armstrong counties.

Police previously arrested three others — Brian J. Miller, 27, Scott L. Moyer, 28, and Destiny S. Stemmerich, 21, all of Brady Township — in the ongoing probe.

Atwell is being held in the Butler County Prison on $50,000 bail. Miller and Moyer are out on bail and Stemmerich is free on her own recognizance.

A tip Saturday afternoon led to Atwell's arrest at a pizza shop on West Cunningham Street. Police on Oct. 28 obtained an arrest warrant for him stemming from the scrap metal theft investigation.

State police Lt. Eric Hermick said the defendant was found with a gun that he had earlier stolen from his father's house in Venango County, near the Butler County line.

Investigators believe Atwell, Miller and Moyer on Oct. 27 drove to the M.G. Dyess facility in Clintonville, Venango County, and stole numerous items, valued at $31,000.

Among the property, according to court documents, was aluminum and brass fittings, two industrial water flow meters, a generator, seven batteries and extension cords.

M.G. Dyess is a Mississippi-based company that provides pipeline construction and related services to oil and gas transmission companies in the United States, according to the firm's Website.

The three men along with Stemmerich later took some of the stolen items to MRC Scrap Metals on Kittanning Street, where they tried to sell them, documents said.

Police arrested Miller, Moyer and Stemmerich that day after learning they were there. Atwell, however, managed to get away.

Investigators interviewed the three suspects, who admitted wrongdoing.

Stemmerich told troopers that Atwell and Moyer had been “stealing scrap for several months,” according to a police affidavit.

The property, she said, was stored at a home on Buttercup Lane where she, Miller and Moyer lived.

Police on Oct. 28 obtained a search warrant for the home, where they found numerous pieces of scrap metal, a portable generator and other items believed stolen from MG Dyess.

All four defendants are charged with a felony count of receiving stolen property stemming from the scrap metal theft investigation.

Police said Atwell also faces additional charges of possession of a stolen firearm and receiving stolen property, having been caught with his father's handgun.

1 suspect also had gun