Police Nab Two Men in $500,000 Copper Heist

Lemont Police, working in conjunction with the Tri County Auto Theft Task Force (TCAT), arrested two brothers Nov. 14 in connection with a theft of $500,000 worth of copper from a business in unincorporated Lemont.

Kyle Anderson, 22, of Bridgeview and Mike Anderson, 27, of Oak Lawn were booked into the Cook County Jail on charges of felony theft.

TCAT Deputy Director Dwayne Killian said based on a tip, TCAT agents began conducting surveillance at warehouses in Alsip, Oak Lawn and Bridgeview.  On Nov. 14, agents struck gold – or in this case, copper – as they observed two men using a Bobcat to remove the precious cargo from a semi trailer and place it on a smaller trailer.

“We found [the copper] in Bridgeview at a little business, between two outbuildings,” Killian said. “It was so heavy, we had to use a flatbed tow truck to bring it home. The plates come in three-by-six-foot sheets of raw copper, which is copper in its purest form.”

Killian said an investigation by TCAT agents as well as members of the Illinois State Police Midwest Cargo Unit and Northeast Metro Auto Unit led police to the nearly half-million dollars worth of copper, which was reported stolen from Noramco at 12228 S. New Ave. in unincorporated Lemont during a burglary sometime between Oct. 12 and  14.

A search warrant was executed at Kyle Anderson’s residence in Bridgeview, where a stolen KTM four-wheeler was found, Killian said. He added that agents also seized two semi trailers, three ATVs, a Ford F35 pickup truck and a large (six-by-six-foot) spool of copper wire that had been reported stolen.

Killian said the copper thefts remain under investigation.

“We’re still tracking back the numbers on the stolen materials,” he said.

The Tri County Auto Theft task force, which operates in Will, Grundy and Kankakee counties, is made up of officers from police departments from the three-county area.

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