The Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office today announced the arrest of a Salida area man on several charges of felony theft of wire cable and scrap metal with a total value in excess of $18,000.

In the first case, a local man reported that a spool of construction-grade wire cable had disappeared from his property on CR 140 sometime in late November.  The spool, weighing about a half-ton and valued at $2,000 had been removed from the property by someone who apparently had used heavy equipment.  A witness later reported seeing the spool at a salvage yard in Penrose.  Investigation identified the seller as Christopher Fleetwood, 29, of Salida.  Fleetwood was arrested on a warrant December 5 and jailed on charges of felony theft and misdemeanor trespassing.  He was released on $5,000 bail in that case.

In the second case, the owners of a Salida brass recycling company reported the theft of two crates of recycled ammunition casings from their property on two separate occasions in May.  The crates, weighing more than a ton each and with a total value of over $16,000, were later discovered at a scrap metal lot in Colorado Springs.  Investigators allege that Christopher Fleetwood received more than $11,000 from the scrap metal company when he sold the casings to them.  On December 16, Fleetwood was arrested on a warrant charging him with two counts of felony theft.  He was lodged at the Chaffee County Detention Center with a bond of $15,000.