8 arrested in theft of ComEd's copper cable

Eight men were accused of running a copper theft ring Thursday after stolen copper cable worth $42,000 was found in their truck, Elgin police said.

The eight were each charged with theft, attempted theft and criminal trespass to a building, police said.

Jermaine Tillis, 17; Elmo Anthony Perkins, 46; Thelbert Kyler, 22; John W. Moore, 23; Deandre L. Ashford, 19; William N. Jones, 35; Kelly L. Bray, 21; and Shawn D. Esters, 23, all gave Chicago addresses at their bond hearings Friday.

A witness called police at 3 a.m. Thursday after he saw men loading copper into a U-Haul truck at the ComEd storage facility at 350 Second St. in Elgin, police said.

The truck was stopped at Weld Road and McLean Boulevard, about four blocks away, police said.

Police said 122 pieces of copper had been cut into various lengths inside the truck.

When police returned to the ComEd storage facility, they found a chain link fence that had been cut and 25 pieces of cut cable worth $5,700 lying on the ground.

When questioned, all eight men admitted taking part in the copper theft at the ComEd facility and all said they were promised between $200 to $800 by someone in Chicago for loading the copper into the truck, authorities said.

"The case is still under investigation and nothing has been learned yet that would implicate them in other copper thefts," Elgin Police Sgt. Sean Rafferty said.

Bonds for the eight men ranged from $2,500 to $30,000, mostly depending on their criminal histories.

All eight were being held Friday in the Kane County jail and all have a Aug. 16 court date at the Kane County Judicial Center.