Two teens charged with burglary in Palmetto copper wire theft

HERALD STAFF REPORT


MANATEE — Two teens arrested Dec. 1 in connection with a copper wire theft have been charged with burglary.

Ramsey

Jacob Ramsey, 18, and a 16-year-old boy removed a large spool of copper from the abandoned home, a Manatee County Sheriff’s Office report states.

A sheriff’s deputy was patrolling the 700 block of 39th Street East in Palmetto at 4 p.m. on Dec. 1 when she saw a white Jeep pull out of a vacant house and leave at a high rate of speed, according to the report.

She caught up to the vehicle as it approached U.S. 41 and 39th Street East and conducted a traffic stop, the report states. As she approached the vehicle she noticed that there was wiring in the back seat and the suspects were covered in drywall dust.

The two suspects later told the deputy they entered the house without permission and ripped the wire out of the wall, the report states. The wire was seized from the vehicle along with a pair of wire cutters and a wrench that they used to break up the drywall, according to the report.

The property owner wanted to prosecute both of the suspects, the report states.