A man accused of stealing more than $3,600 worth of equipment from cell towers across several counties, was arraigned last Monday in an Ottawa County court, according to the Sandusky Register.
Scott Laurie, 37, of Toledo, admitted to thefts in Port Clinton, according to an Ottawa County sheriff’s report and faces felony charges of theft, breaking and entering and disrupting public service in Erie, Ottawa, Hancock and Lucas counties. Laurie pleaded not guilty to the Ottawa County charges only.
The Erie County sheriff’s report stated a Verizon employee checked on a door alarm at a Berlin Township tower’s shelter and discovered eight Northstar Batteries missing. The batteries were valued at worth more than $400 each.
According to the log, Laurie, an employee of the subcontractor that maintains the computer systems across Ohio for Verizon, was the last person to leave the shelter, VanEerten said. “The allegations are that he used the access he had to the towers from his employer to steal the batteries and sell them,” VanEerten told the Register.
The locks at the shelter were changed a month before because of recent thefts, but as an employee of the subcontractor, Laurie would be provided with a new key, the report stated.
Laurie denied going to the tower that day and said he didn’t know anything about the theft, but an employee at the tower said he saw Laurie at the shelter, according to the report. Deputies arrested him in December, the Sandusky Register reported.
March 19, 2018
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