LAWTON Okla_ A Lawton salvage yard owner
trapped a thief in his lot early Wednesday afternoon until police arrived.
Mike Hodges of Hodges
Auto Salvage got a call from a fellow business owner saying they'd seen a man
steal scrap metal from another establishment, then head his way to make some
money off the stolen goods.
After police
had been called, Hodges and his crew made sure the thief couldn't get away.
"We kind
of blocked their truck in where they couldn't get out," Hodges said.
Hodges said
stopping thieves and filing police reports are just part of the job when you
own a salvage yard. He thinks the rise in theft is a result of the suffering
economy. Whatever the reason, Hodges said it's a problem that just seems to be
getting worse in the Lawton
area.
"It's just a
thing they do right now," Hodges said. "They'll pick stuff up and bring it here
and try to sell it. They'll steal the copper and try to sell it. We try to be
careful of what we buy and try to eliminate some of this stealing that's going
around town."
Hodges said it's very common for a thief to risk getting caught for just $20
worth of stolen metal.
