Two men were arrested in connection with the theft of $1.4 million in copper wires and pipes from Graton Resort and Casino in Rohnert Park and a construction site in Napa, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office said.
Abel Gomez Moreno, 41, of Madera, and Fray Juan Barbosa Villanueva, 24, of San Jose, dressed as construction workers and used a white GMC pickup truck with license plates removed, deputies said Friday on social media.
Graton Resort said thieves took $25,000 in copper wire and $30,000 in copper plumbing on July 22 and $20,000 in wire on July 29, according to deputies.
Detectives used surveillance images to track the men and the truck to a construction site in Napa that reported copper thefts on July 2 and July 10 of $65,000 in wire and pipes, the sheriff’s office said.
Deputies and Napa police observed two men at the site with power tools “consistent with cutting copper” and heard cutting and the sound of copper pipes hitting the ground, according to the sheriff’s office.
The suspects were stopped as they left the construction site. Moreno attempted to flee on foot but was taken into custody following a brief struggle, the sheriff’s office said.
Barbosa Villanueva attempted to reverse the vehicle to escape but mistakenly shifted into neutral, allowing detectives to take him into custody, deputies said.
Both were accused of grand theft of stolen copper materials, conspiracy, burglary and obstructing/resisting a police officer, according to the sheriff’s office. Both were released on their own recognizance.