North Las Vegas man accused of stealing copper from Lowe’s stores
A North Las Vegas man was arrested after authorities accused him of repeatedly stealing copper products from Lowe’s stores in the valley, then pawning the goods at area recycling centers.
Jeremy Allen Jones, 25, was booked at the Clark County Detention Center on five counts of burglary of a business and a single count of participating in a retail theft ring.
An arrest report for Jones states that he was arrested after a man repeatedly stole copper items from Lowe’s stores from April 30 until June 7.
Lowe’s locations targeted were outlets on West Washington Avenue, West Charleston Boulevard, South Boulder Highway, East Craig Road and West Craig Road.
Police said that on four occasions a man walked into the stores, filled his cart with copper-related products and walked out without paying for them.
On a fifth occasion the same man walked into Lowe’s, grabbed a trash can for sale and filled it with copper items but only paid for the trash can before fleeing when questioned by a store employee. Police said they also were investigating two other similar thefts from Lowe’s stores in North Las Vegas.
Police said in Jones’ arrest report that they could prove that Jones pawned all of the stolen copper goods, valued at more than $12,000, at recycling centers in Henderson, North Las Vegas and Las Vegas for pennies on the dollar.
“No reasonable person would believe the items were purchased and not stolen,” police said in the report.
The theft of copper, meanwhile, continues to be a local and national problem. In the fall of 2020, thieves using power tools stole copper wiring to freeway lights in the Spaghetti Bowl corridor, causing overhead lighting above Interstate 15 in the area to go dark. Police made a string of arrests in that case and others.
A criminal complaint has not been filed in Jones’ case. Police described Jones as a felon with prior convictions for grand larceny, possession of narcotics with intent to sell and trafficking in a controlled substance. When arrested in his most recent case, police said, Jones faced outstanding warrants in a fraud and drug case.
Jones is scheduled to make an appearance in Las Vegas Justice Court on Tuesday.
Contact Glenn Puit by email at gpuit@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GlennatRJ on Twitter.
