'Serial Copper Thief' Caught Red-Handed, Cops Say

A "serial copper thief," who Southampton Town police detectives said they caught in the act at a Remsenburg house on Monday afternoon, may be responsible for a string of thefts over the past six months.

Detectives arrested Jonathan Hodgdon, a 21-year-old from Mastic, at about 1:45 p.m., after they said they saw him cutting and stealing copper piping from the outside of a house on Old Mill Lane.

The arrest comes after an investigation, involving the Westhampton and Quogue Village police departments, into similar copper larcenies in the western part of the township between April and October.

"Hodgdon would case residential neighborhoods looking for copper and other precious metals that he would then steal and scrap for cash at local recycling centers," Southampton Town police said in a statement.

Hodgdon was charged with six counts of third-degree grand larceny, five counts of second-degree criminal mischief, and one count of fourth-degree grand larceny and third-degree burglary, all felonies, as well a possession of burglar tools and petty larceny, both misdemeanors.

Additional charges are expected to be filed in other police jurisdictions, such as Quogue Village and Westhampton Village.

The investigation is on-going and anyone with additional information is asked to call Southampton Town police detectives at 631-702-2230. All calls will be kept confidential.