Town Creek man charged with theft from former employer

Michael Wetzel, The Decatur Daily, Ala.
·2 min read

Dec. 3—A Town Creek man is accused of stealing from a Decatur defense and aerospace contractor where he was formerly employed, according to Decatur police.

Larry Laron Odell, 54, was arrested and charged with first-degree theft and first-degree criminal mischief. Police said Odell broke into Micor Industries LLC, 1314 State Docks Road S.W., and damaged machinery and stole property.

He was arrested Tuesday, police said, and was transported to the Morgan County Jail with bail set at $90,000. He posted bond and was released the same day, according to court records.

According to an affidavit dated Nov. 16 by Detective Tony Vest, Odell "damaged two machine standards valued at $4,500 at Micor and had no right or any reasonable ground to believe that he had such a right."

The affidavit said Micor terminated Odell from employment on Nov. 8. It said the company's chief executive officer, Julius Uhlmann, reviewed security cameras and observed Odell stealing items from the company on the morning of Nov. 8. It said Odell also damaged equipment.

On Nov. 11, according to the affidavit, Uhlmann reported the incident to Decatur police and downloaded all security camera footage and compiled an itemized list of property damaged along with items missing.

"Odell had damaged company property by throwing items in a shavings bin along with ripping up instruction manuals and grinding parts," the affidavit read.

One item reported taken by Odell was a profilometer — a measuring instrument used to evaluate the roughness of a surface — valued at $2,900, the affidavit said.

Uhlmann on Thursday afternoon said "the judicial system will handle the situation." He had no further comment.

Micor, a precision machine company, announced in the spring a $5.5 million expansion, including the addition of $3.2 million in new equipment. The expansion would result in 10 additional jobs, the company said.

The new employees will make an estimated average annual salary of $60,000, not including benefits, according to Micor. The company had 46 employees prior to the expansion.

The company produces precision parts for military weapons, aeronautics and space applications. Micor makes suppressors, silencers, M-2s, M-4s, and other military-grade weapons. The company also sells aerospace parts to clients like Dynetics, Ruag and Boeing, and it has contracts with NASA.

— mike.wetzel@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2442. Twitter @DD_Wetzel.