Cooperation nets metal-theft suspect

The machine parts, worth $4,500, came from a Belmont Avenue business.
YOUNGSTOWN -- Seeking the cooperation of scrap yards to identify those suspected of stealing copper and other metals has paid off for detectives.
Kevin M. Carter, 47, of Harvard Street, appeared in municipal court Friday for arraignment on a charge of receiving stolen property. Judge Robert A. Douglas Jr. set bond at $100,000 and a preliminary hearing for Wednesday.
A foreman at Youngstown Iron & amp; Metal on Division Street phoned Patrolman Dave Santangelo on Thursday afternoon, saying that a man known to the yard as Kevin Clark, a frequent visitor to the business, was there. Clark, later identified as Carter, was a person of interest involved in the selling of stolen metals, reports show.
Items to sell
Santangelo notified Detective Sgt. Michael Kawa that Carter was a passenger in a car that was in line at the yard with items to sell. Police suspected that Carter had $4,500 worth of machine parts stolen from Time-Kap, a business on Belmont Avenue.
Santangelo and Kawa, while waiting for a marked cruiser at the scrap yard, noticed that Carter appeared nervous and suspected he might flee. Carter got out of the car he was in, opened the trunk and began placing items on the ground, the officers said.
After a foreman at Time-Kap arrived and identified the machine parts, Carter was arrested. The driver of the car Carter had been in, a Crandall Avenue woman, was issued a citation for not having a valid driver's license, and the car was towed.
Active warrant
Police said Carter has an active warrant issued out of Summit County on a larceny charge, but Youngstown is out of the warrant's authorized pickup radius.
For the past several months, police have responded to break-in calls at businesses and vacant houses where copper wires and pipes were stolen for their scrap value. Aluminum siding also has been ripped from vacant houses to sell as scrap.