Scrap metal raid nets ‘major’ suspect

Is he the Scarface of scrap metal? The Capone of copper?

Police aren't exactly sure about the scale of the operation.

But after Wednesday's SWAT raid on a central valley home, police said one major local figure in the war against scrapping is off the streets -- and away from your air conditioner.

Las Vegas police raided a home at 5216 Casco Way, near Jones Boulevard and U.S. Highway 95, about 1 p.m.

They arrested Larry Chappel, 55, on multiple felony charges, including receiving stolen goods.

Inside the house, police discovered a garage full of stripped copper, electrical cables, air conditioners, even car parts.

Much of the metal was stolen from air conditioners from abandoned houses in the area, police said. More was stolen from construction sites and light poles.

One of the confirmed copper victims was the Las Vegas Valley Water District. Another was a business that didn't even realize that six air-conditioning blowers, worth $12,000, were missing until police called Wednesday afternoon.

Sgt. John Sheahan, a police spokesman, said Chappel reportedly bought the stolen goods from thieves. He then stripped away the metal and resold it, although police aren't sure who his buyer was.

"Where the copper was going is all part of our ongoing investigation," Sheahan said.

He said thieves have stolen millions of dollars' worth of scrap metal since the start of the recession, when thousands of houses were abandoned and construction projects were left unfinished.

The scale of Chappel's operation is unclear, Sheahan said.

"We don't know how big a slice of the pie this guy was getting," he said.

Police said they first identified Chappel as a "major" metal dealer from an informant's tip. An undercover detective then conducted several transactions with the man over the past few weeks.

"He told my detective, 'Watch out for cops, they're looking into this metal theft stuff,' " said Lt. Dennis Flynn, who oversees Bolden Area Command's problem-solving unit, which conducted the investigation. "What a complete knucklehead."

Flynn said Chappel recently completed a transaction worth about $2,000.

Police knew that, Flynn said, because the receipt was inside his house.

Sheahan said police are hopeful the arrest will deter copper thieves in the area who had sold stolen goods to Chappel.

"Now they won't have anyone to sell their stuff to," he said.

Police said it appeared Chappel was not concerned with concealing his line of work.

The vanity plates on his two work trucks, seized as evidence by police, read "Scrap 1" and "Scrap 2."

Contact reporter Mike Blasky at mblasky@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0283.