Thermal man arrested for possession of 950 pounds of copper wire

THERMAL, Calif. – On Friday, December 28th, Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, Thermal Station Deputies, arrested 59-year-old Domingo Lopes from Thermal for being in possession of approximately 950 pounds of stolen copper wire and for operating as a junk dealer without a license.

Lopes was arrested around 3:30 p.m. after the deputies served a search warrant related to copper wire thefts in the unincorporated community of Thermal. The arrest took place at the 84000 block of Avenue 55 in Thermal.

At the time of the theft, the copper wire was valued at $40,000. Deputies confiscated the wires and are continuing their investigation of metal thefts in the area.

Anyone with information about the metal thefts is encouraged to call the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, Thermal Station, at 760-863-8990.