WYOMING, Mich. (WZZM) - A Grand Rapids man has been sentenced to a year in jail and placed on probation for five years for stealing forklifts and turning them in for scrap metal, earning up to $1,500 for each piece of machinery.
William H. Darling Jr., 37, was sentenced Tuesday by Kent County Circuit Judge Paul Sullivan. Darling was convicted of larceny between $1,000 and $20,000, for a forklift reported stolen in September from Printech ADS on Jefferson Avenue SE in Wyoming.
Sullivan also ordered Darling to pay $29,000 in restitution, but that figure could change.
Darling is among a growing number of people being prosecuted for stealing everything from copper pipes to manhole covers and trading them in for cash at West Michigan salvage yards.
Under a change in state law, scrap metal dealers must now photograph scrap metal brought in for sale, making it less attractive for thieves looking to make a quick buck. But with copper prices on the rise and scrap iron fetching about 8 cents a pound, there is money to be made, industry officials say.
Municipalities and utilities have also been victimized by scrap metal thieves. Over the last several years, copper theft from Consumers Energy substations has grown, including its facility on Wealthy Street SW. The state Department of Transportation has experienced copper thefts in the Detroit area, state officials said.
