LOS ANGELES—On September 18, the Los Angeles Police Department announced on September 13 that a suspect has been arrested in connected to the theft of metal. The Commercial Crime Division’s Metal Theft Unit (MTU), in collaboration with the Office of Los Angeles City Council President Paul Krekorian, conducted compliance checks at recycling centers and metal yards in the San Fernando Valley.
The LAPD reported that during the checks, MTU recovered 290 pounds of street lighting wire stolen from the Los Angeles Bureau of Street Lighting, which had an estimated value of $2,000.
A total of 290 pounds of street lighting wire, estimated to be worth $10,000, was stolen from the Los Angeles Department of Transportation. A total of 256 pounds bronze plaque stolen from the city of Burbank, with an estimated value of $10,000. A total of 3,366 pounds of copper and aluminum wire, estimated to be worth $24,000 were stolen from CalTrans.
Due to the amount of copper and aluminum wire recovered and the recovery of a bronze Burbank plaque, the owner of Tuxford Recycling, Bedros “Peter” Zhamkochian, was arrested for 496a(a) PC-Receiving Stolen Property, Booking #6883281.
Detectives are asking that anyone with details regarding this investigation is asked to call Commercial Crimes Division at (213) 486-5920 between 6 a.m. and 4 p.m. During non-business hours or on weekends, calls should be directed to 1-877-LAPD-24-7 (877-527-3247). Anyone wanting to remain anonymous should call the L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (800-222-8477) or go directly to www.lacrimestoppers.org.
