Two Arrested on Copper Theft Charges

West Memphis, Ark. - 41-year old Michael May and 28-year old Mark Johnson are in jail, charged with theft of more than 60-thousand dollars. The two were arrested with a stolen trailer, at i-40 and Whitten in Memphis on Saturday.

Police say they admitted to helping steal a flat bed, filled with more than 128-thousand dollars of copper in West Memphis, Arkansas. James Young, who's driven a flat-bed for 15 years, says copper is a dangerous load to be carrying.

“When you stop the truck make sure you're in a safe place or it won't be there,” says Young

According to West Memphis Police, the flat-bed was parked at North Ingram and Southland Drive at around 4am when one of the suspects offered to buy copper off the truck driver. He then ordered him to drop his trailer, which he proceeded to load on to his own semi and drove off. Young says the transfer would take just a matter of minutes.

Seasoned truckers say, most copper shipments are covered with a tarp, so people can't tell what it is.

Cargo theft is not uncommon. Nationwide, loss estimates range from 10 to 30-billion dollars a year. Young, says he stopped transporting copper because of how dangerous it was.

James Young, “You going to a warehouse parking lot late at night, cause they'll knock on your door, pretend they're buying or selling something, there you go, hijacked.”