Arrests May Not End Scrap Metal Thefts at Clawson Business

Two suspected scrap metal thieves were arrested just after midnight on Dec. 21 at a Clawson business that has suffered thousands of dollars in losses in similar crimes, including one as recently as the day before.

ND Industries, 1000 N. Crooks, has suffered losses in the amount of about $20,000 over the past two years, Clawson Police Lt. Scott Sarvello told The Oakland Press. ND Industries is a supplier of fastening and sealing supplies.

Acting on a tip from a neighbor who reported a suspicious pickup truck at the business, police caught the two suspects at the business shortly after midnight. When authorities arrived, one of the suspects was inside a large Dumpster-like bin on the property that the company uses to store metal shavings, which fetch about $250 for every 1,000 pounds.

“The man in the bin was scooping out scrap metal shavings and handing them to the second guy, who was dumping them into their pickup truck,” Sarvello said.

The two men were arrested on misdemeanor larceny charges. One of the suspects reportedly admitted to having been at the business before and said he thought it was legal to take things from a trash receptacle, but police said they can’t connect them to previous scrap metal thefts from the business.

“We’re sure these aren’t the only metal thieves that have hit this business,” he said.

Sarvello also said it’s not legal to take anything from private property, even if it appears to have been abandoned in a trash bin or Dumpster.

“The business loses money it makes from turning in ts scrap metal,” he said.

When the two – a 28-year-old man from Pontiac and a 24-year-old man from Auburn Hills – were arrested, they were in possession of about $120 worth of scrap metal.

The two were released from custody on personal bond.