Two men were arrested after stealing $21,500 worth of metal materials and causing $78,800 in damage at several businesses in Delaware, according to state police.
In the first incident on Sept. 30 around 2:15 a.m., police said that two suspects broke into a business in the unit block of King Court in New Castle and stole 200 pounds of aluminum wire before fleeing.
The second theft happened in the early morning of Nov. 14 when two unknown men broke into another business in the unit block of King Court and took several hundred pounds of HVAC materials, officials said.
Then, around 6 p.m. on Nov. 27, police reported that the two men broke into a box truck at a business on the 100 block of Carson Drive in Bear and stole spools of copper wire.
According to state police, another theft happened on Dec. 16 around 3:40 a.m. when the same men stole copper wire from a business on the 800 block of Powder Mill Road in Wilmington.
On Dec. 29 at around 4:30 a.m. the thieves went back to one of the businesses on the unit block of King Court in New Castle and cut open a fence in an attempt to steal more metal products, officials said. The two left empty handed because the business removed all of their metal after the first robbery.
The final reported theft happened on Jan. 25 at 4:40 a.m., the suspects returned to the business on the 800 block of Powder Mill Road in Wilmington where they stole several feet of copper wire during this theft, officials said.
During each of the thefts, the two suspects wore face masks and police said they stole about $21,500 in materials and caused an estimated total of $78,800 in damage to the businesses when they fled.
Mark Hartnett, 32, and Thomas Drummond, 38, were identified by investigators as the suspects in these robberies, according to the Delaware State Police.
Investigators said that Hartnett sold the materials that had been stolen to various scrap metal facilities.
Hartnett was arrested in Wilmington on Feb. 20 and he was charged with burglary, selling stolen property, criminal trespass and other related charges. He was released from custody after he posted bail.
Drummond was arrested on Feb. 23 in New Castle and charged with burglary, theft, conspiracy and other related charges. He was released from custody after posting a $9,400 secured bond.