On November 11th at 2:35pm, Patrolman Chris Steins arrested James Oblinger Jr., 32, of Barnegat for theft in connection with the theft of copper from a Barnegat Business.
Ptl. Steins had responded earlier in the day to The Gold Duster on East Bay Avenue for a report of copper. Upon arrival, Ptl. Steins learned that an unknown subject had disassembled and stolen five copper downspouts and 20 copper downspout clamps ($700 value) from the building.
Detective Michael Mitchell joined the investigation and discovered that Oblinger Jr. had sold the stolen copper at an area recycling facility.
Ptl. Steins was able to locate Oblinger Jr and place him under arrest. Oblinger Jr was charged with theft and was lodged in the Ocean County Jail in default of $5,000 bail.
The copper had unfortunately already been processed for recycling and could not be returned to the business owner.