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Dover Man Arrested In Connection With Wire Theft

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TBO.com

Published: December 27, 2007

MULBERRY - Polk sheriff's deputies say they've caught a man who has been stealing thousands of dollars worth of copper wire from former phosphate mine property southwest of Mulberry.

Erwin Westmoreland, 34, of 15112 Martin Luther King Blvd, Dover, faces three counts of burglary, grand theft and criminal mischief in connection with three December burglaries of one-time phosphate mine sites.

Deputies nabbed Westmoreland early Monday after security at Mosaic Corp. property off County Road 640 reported a burglary in progress late on Dec. 23, according to an arrest report.

The suspect fled, but deputies and a K-9 team found duffel bags stuffed with copper wire and burglary tools, the report said. The police dog and handler tracked the suspect inside an industrial building on the property, where he had holed up on top of piping in an effort to hide, the report said.

The man was identified as Westmoreland.

He was subsequently charged with two other copper burglaries from industrial sites in the area. They occurred on Dec. 5 and Dec. 20, according to the report.

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