SC man charged with stealing copper from church

SPARTANBURG, S.C. (AP) — A 48-year-old Spartanburg man was arrested in connection with the theft of copper from a local church where the metal had been stolen four times in two weeks.

Authorities say 48-year-old Daryl Lynn Wilson of Spartanburg was arrested Friday on several charges related to one theft from Whitney Baptist Church.

Church dean Claude Thomason says he got a photo of the thief during the fourth theft Wednesday afternoon.

He tells WYFF-TV that he took the photo using a motion-activated hunting camera that was pointed at the air-conditioning units. Copper pipes leading to two of the units had been cut off repeatedly.

Investigators haven’t linked Wilson to any of the first three thefts at the church, but say they’re trying to determine if he was involved in other metal thefts.