Report: Man stole metal from plant

HURON — A Waterville, Ohio, man was arrested in June for an alleged metal wire theft from a Huron manufacturer. On June 26, a manager from Ardagh Metal Beverage company called Huron police to report a theft of spooled wire. After a police investigation, Michael W. Graf, 48, Waterville, was arrested and charged with one count of theft, a fifth-degree felony. Graf was observed in still images taken on a trail camera that was set up to monitor the spools of wire at the plant, according to a Huron police report. One of the images purportedly shows Graf with a spool of wire in each hand. The spools were located in the southern portion of the plant. Graf was assigned to be working in the northern part, the manager told police. A Huron officer noticed a red SUV, that was reportedly linked to Graf, trying to leave the parking lot. The officer ran the plate and it came back to Graf. The officer then initiated a traffic stop. Graf initially denied being in the southern portion of the plant but eventually admitted to taking the wire. An officer noticed that Graf was wearing the same clothing from the surveillance photos. He purportedly told officers he intended to sell the wire because he had not worked very much lately. Graf reportedly pointed out where the spools were located and officers located five spools of various types of wire at that location. The manager told officers the five spools were valued at more than $1,000. He stated that in the past few months, more than $30,000 worth of wire disappeared from the plant. No charges have been filed or suspects identified in those additional thefts. Graf pleaded not guilty to felony theft in Huron Municipal Court on June 30. He has a pre-trial scheduled for Friday. As of late Wednesday, Graf is incarcerated at Erie County Jail under an $8,000 bond. If convicted of fifth-degree felony theft, Graf could face up to 12 months in prison or a $2,500 fine or both. He could also be ordered to pay Ardagh restitution.