Cameras help solve major theft
MUDDY CREEK TWP — An alleged thief was arrested Tuesday on charges he stole about $20,000 worth of building materials from a township business.
Jason R. Porter, 38, of Muddy Creek Township, is accused of taking the property from Desuta Concrete Forms on Route 19 between Sept. 1 and Tuesday.
Company owner Dave Desuta credited a newly installed surveillance system with helping solve the crime.
Around Labor Day, it was first noticed that aluminum and steel materials were missing from the business' six-acre, fenced-in yard, prompting the business to set up a surveillance system.
Cameras caught a man entering the property in a pickup truck and taking galvanized steel post shores and steel clamps on Sunday and Tuesday, respectively.
Police stopped the suspect, who was identified as Porter, on Tuesday at a New Castle scrap yard, where he had gone with the stolen clamps. They were valued at $6,250.
A full report will appear in the Butler Eagle.
