Police: Tennessee man caught stealing copper on rooftop

FORT OGLETHORPE — A Tennessee man was arrested in Fort Oglethorpe after authorities caught him on the roof of a clothing store allegedly attempting to steal copper wire, police say.

According to the Fort Oglethorpe Police Department:

Russell Stephen Moore Jr., 50, of Clinton, Tennessee, was arrested Aug. 29 on charges of criminal trespassing, possession of tools for the commission of a crime, theft and conspiracy to commit burglary.

Moore has been released from Catoosa County jail, but was extradited to Dade County after a hold was placed on him regarding an outstanding warrant.

The botched burglary attempt occurred at approximately 9 p.m. on Aug. 29, when officers were dispatched to the Rugged Wearhouse off Battlefield Parkway.

Store employees claimed someone was on the roof when no one was supposed to be.

Officer James Davis said when he arrived, he and Lt. John McGrath found a ladder leading to a hatch up to the roof where they found Moore.

Moore tried to convince officers that he worked for a company that’d been hired to do work on the building.

He supplied officers with the name of his supervisor, but when they called to check it out, the supervisor informed police that Moore had recently been fired from the company.

“After confronting Mr. Moore with this information, he admitted he had been fired and that he intended to take the copper home where he could strip it down and scrap it,” officer Davis said.

After Moore was arrested, officers collected some of his tools as evidence and determined that the two spools of copper were valued at approximately $4,000 each.

Adam Cook, Walker County Messenger