Recycler alerts police about stolen copper

Elgin police say they were called to a recycling business Wednesday morning where a man was trying to sell about 2,000 pounds of brand-new copper tubing that he'd brought in his pickup truck.

Jesse J. Wellenstein, 25, of 38W295 Hopps Road, Elgin, first told police he was a plumber and collected the unused tubing from several different jobs, police said.

Police called his employer, a water company, who told them they had never given copper tubing to Wellenstein.

Then he told police an employee of Professional Plumbing in Barrington named Andrew gave him the tubing and told him they would split the $3,000 to $5,000 after Wellenstein sold it, police said.

Andrew turned out to be Andrius Paulaukas, who was arrested and jailed by Barrington police and was charged in Cook County.

Wellenstein was charged with felony theft Thursday at Elgin Branch Court, according to a report.

He also was charged with possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia after police said they found about one gram of the green leafy substance and two one-hitter boxes in Wellenstein's truck.

Wellenstein posted a $1,000 bond Thursday and was released.

He has a January court date in Elgin for the marijuana charges and a Jan. 3 court date at the Kane County Judicial Center on the theft charge.