Brothers charged in bridge theft

Brothers charged in bridge theft, Brothers arrested in Lawrence County bridge theft. Two brothers have been charged with stealing a Lawrence County bridge in order to sell the metal for scrap.

Police allege that Benjamin Arthur Jones, 24, and Alexander William Jones, 25, of New Castle used a blowtorch to break up the 50-foot-long by 20-foot-wide Covert’s Crossing Bridge in North Beaver Township sometime between Sept. 27 and Oct. 5. They face felony charges of criminal mischief, theft, receiving stolen property and conspiracy. charged stealing entire bridge, charged stealing entire bridge, +50 foot steel bridge stolen, bridge scrapped 31,000 pounds $5,179, stolen bridge $100,000,


Authorities allege in the criminal complaint that the brothers sold 31,000 pounds of steel grate and I-beams and received $5,179 for the scrap or approximately 16.5 cents per pound. They were arrested after the recycling company contacted police.

The privately owned and rarely used bridge was in a wooded area along a railroad line.

According to the criminal complaint, Alexander Jones allegedly told a recycling company employee that he had permission to carve the bridge for scrap, and then showed photos of the bridge that were on his cell phone.

“It’s something you don’t expect to lose,” New Castle Development Co. spokesman Gary Bruce told the New Castle News. “It’s hard to understand why someone would put in that much effort.”

Bruce said the 31,000 pounds sold as scrap doesn’t represent the entire weight of the structure, and the company plans to rebuild but not immediately. The replacement will cost approximately $100,000.

Listed numbers for the defendants could not be found Saturday, and it was unclear whether they had attorneys.

Source:timesonline