San Luis Obispo police have made an arrest in connection with the theft of dozens of copper downspouts at a local shopping center.
Approximately 40 of the downspouts were reportedly taken from buildings in the Irish Hills Plaza shopping center shortly before midnight on July 10.
According to SLOPD, several weeks later, Arroyo Grande police made contact with local resident David Ruble, who was found in possession of six of the stolen downspouts.
As police investigated further, they reportedly discovered that, since July, Ruble had sold more than 1,000 pounds of copper downspouts and insulated copper wiring to a metal scrap yard in Santa Barbara County.
Police say two people who had seen a SLOPD Facebook post that included surveillance images of the downspout thefts also recognized the suspect as David Ruble.
WATCH: "Something of this magnitude... I've never seen." Police react to theft of copper downspouts at SLO shopping center
Ruble was arrested on Tuesday, August 13, and booked into the San Luis Obispo County Jail on a charge of grand theft.
Because of the large amount of copper Ruble has allegedly sold in recent months, police believe there are other victims. Anyone who has had copper downspouts or insulated copper wiring stolen from their property is asked to contact SLOPD Det. Hayden Warner at (805) 594-8042 or via email hwarner@slocity.org.
