Two women arrested for alleged copper theft

by Susie Fowkes , February 2, 2012

Two women were arrested in Milpitas earlier this week after they were allegedly caught in the act of trying to steal copper from a local business.

Just before 4 a.m. on January 30, Milpitas police officers noticed a fence surrounding a vacant business had been cut and spotted the beam of a flashlight coming from inside the building, authorities say.

The officers entered the building to investigate and located 29-year-old Donica Martinez of San Jose. Martinez allegedly had copper pipe and wire in her possession when she was found, according to Milpitas police.

Officers then located 50-year-old Deborah Ibarra, also of San Jose, who had been sitting in a parked car just outside the building. A search of the vehicle turned up more copper wire and piping, according to police. Officers also reportedly found Ibarra in possession of a hypodermic needle and a methamphetamine pipe.

Martinez was charged with burglary and possession of burglary tools. Ibarra was arrested for burglary, possession of burglary tools, possession of a hypodermic needle, and being under the influence of a controlled substance. Both women were booked into Santa Clara County Jail.

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Two women arrested for alleged copper theft was last modified: January 11th, 2019 by admin

Categories: California, Santa Clara

About Author

Susie Fowkes

Susie Dryden Fowkes was born and raised in the Central Coast city of Santa Cruz and studied journalism at San Francisco State University. She has lived in the Silicon Valley for more than a decade, where she has covered Bay Area news for both radio and print media. She currently resides in San Jose with her traffic reporter husband and beagle-lab mix Kona.