An Odessa couple was arrested Friday in connection with a 2021 indictment charging them with stealing copper and selling it.
According to Ector County Sheriff’s Office records, last July investigators realized a tracking device was placed inside a copper wire spool at the Ref-Chem yard on FM 1936 was moving. The device showed the spool stopped at a home in the 1000 block of North Hancock at 10:30 p.m. and was still there at 6:30 a.m. the next day.
Investigators watched a man, later identified as Elliot Esparza, 51, load it into a vehicle and drive it to a recycling place on West 16th Street, according to the report. They then observed his passenger, identified as Norma Mendoza, 50, sell the copper wire.
Esparza first told investigators he got the copper from his ranch and then he said it came from his yard on Hancock.
The couple was arrested on theft of materials and sale of stolen regulated materials. In addition, Esparza was arrested on suspicion of evading arrest in connection with an October incident.
According to an Odessa Police Department report, authorities said Esparza managed to elude them when they tried to pull him over for a few traffic violations.
