Cops Nab Copper Thief
Ventura County – The Moorpark Police Department Investigations Unit has been working for more than six months to determine who has been responsible for a rash of thefts involving “backflow valves and copper piping associated with light industrial buildings,” according to Moorpark PD spokesman Sgt. Eric Tennessen. Those efforts have now been rewarded.
John Tebroski
Since June of this year, more than a dozen such thefts—commonly occurring in the dead of night in business off-hours—have been reported within the Moorpark city limits. As evidence was compiled, much of it video surveillance recorded in less than ideal lighting conditions, Tennessen reported to the media that law enforcement eventually “identified a white Saturn sedan as a potential suspect vehicle.” The Saturn—through additional surveillance evidence—was traced to John Tebroski, 39, whom investigators linked to multiple thefts of plumbing equipment throughout Moorpark and neighboring Newbury Park.
On November 14th, Tebroski was contacted by patrol deputies as he was walking his dog in pre-dawn darkness through an industrial area of Moorpark that had previously been the target of several prior thefts. He was determined to be under the influence of a controlled substance at that time, and was found to be in possession of a pair of large plumbing wrenches and a steel pry bar. Subsequent investigation located Tebroski’s white Saturn, which was found to contain “a battery-operated cutting tool, large pipe wrenches, a hacksaw, and a small amount of methamphetamine,” Tennessen reported.
Backflow Valve
Tebroski was transported from the scene to Ventura County Jail where he was booked on multiple charges of grand theft, petty theft with priors, possession of burglar’s tools, possession of a controlled substance, and being under the influence of a controlled substance. There is no report of any charges having been brought against his dog.
Photos: Courtesy www.pexsupply.com, www.fubar.com
Read more:
VCStar: Authorities arrest man in Moorpark copper thefts
KCLU: Man arrested for string of pipe thefts in Ventura
