December 6, 2024 – Merced County Sheriff's Office officials report that on Wednesday, the Investigations Bureau, in collaboration with the City of Turlock - Turlock Police Department, the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Office, and various City, County, and State agencies, concluded a months-long investigation into large-scale wire thefts throughout Merced and Stanislaus Counties.

Detectives located large quantities of stripped copper wire, a wire stripping machine, and over 60 cut-off catalytic converters at a business in Turlock. The owner of the illegal business was arrested for felony possession of stolen property and was booked into the Stanislaus County Jail. 

While this investigation is still ongoing, we hope that this is a significant step in reducing copper theft in our County. We'd like to thank the various teams and agencies for their hard work on this case. Great job, everyone!

Source & photo: Merced County Sheriff's Office