Copper theft suspect pleads
A man accused of stealing copper from an inactive Russellville mobile home plant in September 2010 pleaded guilty on Friday to theft charges.
Wesley Shane Edgemon, 24, 6755 County Line Road, Russellville, pleaded guilty to first-degree theft of property and received a 15-year sentence split with 18 months to serve followed by five years of probation, Franklin County District Attorney Joey Rushing said.
Edgemon and three other men were arrested Sept. 9, 2010, in connection to stolen items taken from the former Lakota Homes plant located in the Russellville Industrial Park No. 2.
When the missing items were discovered back in September of 2010, investigators with the Russellville Police Department set up surveillance at the plant.
As a result of the surveillance, a team of officers from the RPD, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office and the Franklin County District Attorney’s Office caught four of the men stealing copper from equipment located inside the building.
One defendant, Stephen Wayne Mitchell of Leighton, was not at the plant when the four other men were caught but was arrested at a later date for his role in previous thefts at the plant.
Damages totaling over $154,00 were reported by the owner of the building, reports stated.
“Our goal in these cases was to make sure each of the individuals involved in causing a large amount of damage at this local business served a definite sentence in prison,” Rushing said.
“Mr. Edgemon was the last of the four defendants to be sentenced in this case, and we are glad that each one served prison time for the role they played.”
Co-defendants Christopher Dewayne Mooney, 47, of Tuscumbia; Michael Wade Logan, 27, of Leighton; and Deenytric O’Neal Neloms, 22, of Leighton; have all been previously sentenced to prison sentences, Rushing said.
