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Former Naperville school worker charged in copper theft

A former employee of Naperville Unit District 203 has been charged with stealing more than 4,500 pounds of copper wire from the district over a nine-month period, police said Friday.

James W. Logan, 52, of the 1300 block of Walnut Ridge Drive in Montgomery, is being sought on a warrant for two counts of felony theft.

Logan is accused of taking about $9,000 worth of copper wire from a storage area under a set of bleachers at Naperville Central High School.

Authorities identified him as a suspect while investigating a May 17 theft of $1,000 in cash from the district’s transportation center, for which Logan also has been charged, Sgt. Gregg Bell said.

“Through further investigation, they were also able to determine he was responsible for the theft of the copper wire,” Bell said.

A District 203 spokeswoman said Logan was fired May 22 from the district’s buildings and grounds staff. She declined further comment, citing a pending investigation.

Bell said Logan stole the cash from an office cabinet, and took copper from under the bleachers on several occasions between August 2011 and last month. Bell said he could not elaborate on how such a large quantity of copper was removed.

A DuPage County judge on Thursday set bail in the case at $15,000. Bell said police plan to serve Logan with the warrant in the next few days.

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