NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Friday, December 10, 2010

INCIDENTS

Lake Mead NRA

Man Sentenced For Copper Wire Theft

In early March, rangers at Lake Mead discovered evidence of a large scale operation involving the illegal removal of copper wire from a major electrical service line. Believing that the individuals responsible for the crime would return, a surveillance operation was conducted that eventually resulted in the arrest of two Nevada men. A search warrant was executed on the vehicle used to commit the crime which resulted in the recovery of over 300 feet of heavy gauge copper electrical wire. In subsequent interviews both men admitted to the removal of the copper wire, adding that they had been to the park on numerous occasions to steal wire. In total, they estimated that they had removed over 700 feet of wire, which they admitted to selling for a profit at a Las Vegas metal recycling center. Each was subsequently convicted on a single one count of theft of government property (18 USC § 641). On December 6th, one of the men was sentenced to five years of federal probation and was ordered to pay $49,539.81 in restitution to the park. The second man absconded from his court ordered stay in a half-way house prior to being sentenced; a federal arrest warrant for his capture is outstanding. [Investigative Services Branch, Pacific West Region]

OTHER NEWS

The following stories are among those in today's edition of InsideNPS. To see the full text, including images, NPS employees should go to the InsideNPS home page ( HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index). Non-NPS employees can see most of them on the NPS Digest page ( HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/):

Olympic NP - The final countdown for the Elwha River restoration project has begun, and the largest dam removal in U.S. history is set to begin this coming September. It's also the largest construction project in NPS history, consisting of more than 40 individual projects.

Historic Preservation Training Center - The Historic Preservation Training Center FY2010 Annual Report is now available for distribution and can be viewed online at the center's website. Photo.

Cape Lookout NS - In what has become an annual event over recent years, Cape Lookout National Seashore staff rescued over 57 cold stunned sea turtles on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. Photo.

Southeast Region - Kraig Howe, realty officer for the Land Acquisition Project Office in Naples, Florida, has announced he will retire at the end of the year after more than 34 years of federal service. Photo.

Denver Service Center - Steve Hoffman, natural resource specialist with DSC's Transportation Division, will retire on January 1st after 28 years of government service. Photo.

* * * *

Prepared by the Division of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services, Washington Office, with the support of the Office of the Chief Information Officer. Edited by Bill Halainen ( HYPERLINK "mailto:Bill_Halainen@nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@nps.gov).

--- ### ---