In a statement released late Tuesday, Benicia police Lt. Frank Hartig announced the arrest of a Newark man for alleged grand theft and being in possession of stolen property. The arrest took place on southbound I-680 in Martinez.
At about 8:30 p.m. Monday, August 27, while on patrol in the Benicia Industrial Park, Officer Kirk Keffer spotted a GMC pick-up truck with a spool of copper wire in the bed. The wire was clearly marked “City of Benicia”.
Officer Keffer followed the pick-up onto the freeway as it drove up the freeway on ramp from Bayshore Road. He then followed the pick-up as it traveled s/b I680 onto the Benicia-Martinez Bridge. Keffer stopped the truck in the City of Martinez.
When questioned by Keffer, the truck’s driver, 37-year-old Newark resident Daniel Reeves admitted he had stolen the spool of wire from a work site in the Industrial Park. The spool of wire was valued at approximately $1,000.00. Bolt cutters and wire cutters were also found in the truck.
Reeves was arrested and later transported to the Solano County Jail in Fairfield.
This is not the first time Keffer, , has been involved in the arrest of a copper thief in the Benicia Industrial Park. In noted a number of streetlights were out and a large amount of coper wire on the ground and then the alleged thief who was eventually caught and arrested.
“This is a great example of a police officer paying attention to his surroundings and being ever vigilant with his patrol duties,” said Hartig. “Copper wire theft and metal thefts have plagued not only the City of Benicia, but many local cities. It is rare to catch these types of crimes being committed. This was excellent self initiated police work on Officer Keffer’s part.”
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