Brass Balls and Other Recyclables

With the prices for many metals spiraling skyward, it's unsurprising that there has been a parallel rise in the theft of materials like copper wiring (in some unfortunate — albeit spectacular — cases, while said wiring is still in the process of carrying electrical current). But 61-year-old Jimmy Myers of Piney Flats, Tenn., deserves special mention for his brazenness.

Federal prosecutors say Myers, a former civilian police officer at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Dahlgren, Va., stole and subsequently recycled three blocks of titanium valued at $30,000 from the base metal shop, pocketing the proceeds. He was in uniform and on duty at the time of the theft. When authorities searched Myers' home, they also found aluminum cans, copper, blocks of aluminum, an aluminum table frame, a roll of sheet metal and an anvil.

For theft of government property, Myers was sentenced to five months in prison, five months of home confinement and two years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay $250 in restitution. That's assuming he does not attempt to recycle the bars of his cell.
Source: Virginia Daily Press