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GOLIAD – A Rockport man is wanted in connection with a copper theft ring operating in Goliad County.
Alton Todd Lockaby, 21, listed as the county sheriff’s department’s most wanted man, is on the run, Sheriff Robert De La Garza said.
He is wanted in connection with organized crime for burglary and theft of thousands of dollars’ worth of copper, brass and other valuable metals.
The thefts occurred over a period of many months from a Goliad County maintenance yard, the Goliad school district and other locations in north Goliad County.
Through their investigation, the sheriff’s deputies were able to obtain copies of sales tickets receipts from a recycling center in the 300 block of Industrial Park Drive in Victoria. The receipts had Lockaby’s name listed as the seller for thousands of dollars’ worth of metal.
“It’s hard to determine the exact amount, when it is sold and melted down. Small amounts go unrecorded while larger amounts have to be reported and recorded in a database managed by the Department of Public Safety. This data becomes very useful,” said Sheriff’s Investigator Danny Madrigal.
Four people have been arrested in the case by Goliad County Sheriff’s deputies with the assistance of Texas Ranger Andy Lopez. They are Bobby Leroy Lockaby Jr., 27, of Rockport, who was arrested June 4, in Rockport; Paul Vincent Gonzalez, 40, of Rockport, in Alice on Monday, who is out on a $7,500 bond.
Sandra Lynn Wood, 34, of Goliad, and George Davidson, 37, of Goliad, were arrested April 1 in the commission of a burglary in Goliad. During that arrest deputies were able to link them to the copper thefts, Madrigal said.
The arrests were the result of good detective work and community cooperation, the sheriff said.
“It takes community involvement in these types of crimes; without people and their help it would make our job much more difficult,” said De La Garza.
With the arrests the Goliad County Sheriff’s Office will close at least seven or eight cases.
“People really need to know what they have. If it can be seen from the road, then it needs to be secured and put into a safe place. If it’s out there, these types of criminals are going to steal it. This is happening all over,” De La Garza said.
Christina Burke is a reporter for the Advocate. Contact her at 361-580-6516 or cburke@vicad.com