Woodburn Independent Online

Woodburn man arrested for trying to sell stolen sprinkler heads

Items belonged to Gervais-area nursery

• Published: 10/16/2009 12:19:53 PM
• Last Updated: 10/16/2009 12:20:04 PM

A Woodburn man was arrested for metal theft this week for stealing sprinkler heads from a Gervais-area nursery.
 
The Marion County Sheriff’s Office responded Tuesday to a call from Cherry City Metals regarding a possible metal theft.
 
Cherry City reported that a male subject had come into the business and tried to sell numerous brass sprinkler heads to them for scrap, an MCSO press release said. Cherry City employees recognized engraving and other markings on the sprinkler heads and suspected they might have been stolen. They provided the sheriff’s office with a description of the vehicle, the suspect, and the items he had tried to sell.
 
Based on that information, Deputy Dave Wagner located the vehicle and made contact with the suspect, Alex Martusheff, 35, of Woodburn. Wagner could see the Rainbird sprinklers in Martusheff’s vehicle and believed they were related to a theft of a Gervais-area nursery. He called the nursery, which identified the engravings and markings and indicated the sprinkler heads, valued between $450 and $500, belonged to the nursery.
 
Martusheff was subsequently arrested for second-degree theft and transported to the Marion County Jail.

“Tthis is an excellent example of businesses, community and Law Enforcement working together,” Sheriff Jason Myers said in the release. “Cherry City employees recognized a potential problem and did exactly what they should do by calling law enforcement. And because Deputy Wagner works so closely with the community and business owners in the Woodburn area, he was able to return the stolen items to the rightful owners."
 

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