DNA leads Las Vegas police to man who allegedly stole copper wiring, metals worth thousands from state building
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A man allegedly stole tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of copper wiring from a Nevada state office building by removing coils and internal components from air conditioning units, the 8 News Now Investigators have learned.
Officers arrested James Brady, 41, of Las Vegas, on charges of theft and destroying or injuring real property of another, records said.
In August, Metro police responded to a call at a state-owned building near Warm Springs and Bermuda roads in the south valley. The building was under construction for the Nevada Legislative Counsel Bureau, documents said.
Officers said several industrial air conditioning units on the building’s roof were destroyed.
That day, an HVAC technician noted four 15-ton units were stripped of about $60,000 worth of copper coils and “other miscellaneous metals and internal components,” documents said.
A witness told police he saw a truck in the building’s parking lot early that morning and a person “going back and forth from the truck and the building,” documents said.
Police later located a water bottle and a glove in the area and swabbed them for DNA. DNA from the glove matched Brady. A crime scene analyst found a second glove inside one of the damaged units. DNA on the glove also matched Brady’s, police said.
Other DNA matched several other people, police said, leading officers to interview some of them, documents indicated. One of those people that identified the truck as Brady’s, police said. A records check later showed Brady was the registered owner of a pickup truck.
Police reviewed surveillance video in the area, which captures “a person climbing up the exterior ladder” of the building “and throwing items off of the roof,” documents said.
Brady is a three-time convict for grand larceny, attempted embezzlement and attempted grand larceny, police said.
Police arrested Brady outside of a convenience store on Oct. 27, police said.
Judge Daniel Westmeyer set Brady’s bail at $25,000 during his initial appearance on Oct. 28, records showed. Brady remained in custody as of Friday.
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