Metal thieves caught in the act

Published 11:35 am Monday, November 12, 2012

Police apprehended two people in a truck containing approximately $1,000 worth of metal taken from a Buchanan power company. Submitted photo

Two people were arrested last week for stealing a large amount of metal from the American Electric Power Co. in Buchanan.

Cheri Lynn Burkhard, 35, of Buchanan, and Raymond Charles Kogut, 36, of Mishawaka, were lodged in the Berrien County Jail awaiting arraignment on the preliminary charge of larceny over $1,000 and less than $20,000.

An arrest warrant is being sought for a third suspect in the theft — a 33-year-old male from Indiana.

On Thursday at approximately 1 p.m., a Berrien County Sheriff’s deputy observed a larceny in progress at a property owned by American Electric Power Company on River Road in Buchanan. Upon investigating, the suspects departed from the scene in a vehicle.

The suspect vehicle was later stopped on the St. Joseph Valley Parkway in Berrien Township with assistance from the Michigan State Police and the Berrien County Sheriff Department’s Niles Township Road Patrol.

Officers located and recovered over $1,000 worth of metal stolen from American Electric Power Company property.

The Berrien County Sheriff Department’s Detective Bureau also assisted.