Cops have put a crimp in copper and metal thieves’ damaging activities last week.

Four north Fayette 17- and 18-year-olds have been charged by Fayette County Sheriff’s Office with multiple counts of theft, ranging from five to 52 counts of felony theft each.

Wesley Bowman, 17, was arrested July 10 and has been charged with five counts of felony theft by taking, 52 additional counts of theft by taking government property, second-degree criminal damage to property, fraudulent identification and misdemeanor possession of marijuana, according to sheriff’s spokesperson Belinda McCastle.

Also arrested July 10 were Ryan Collins and David Bohannon, McCastle said. Collins was charged with five counts of felony theft by taking, 52 additional counts of theft by taking government property and second-degree criminal damage to property, McCastle said.

Bohannon was charged with 52 counts of receiving stolen government property and misdemeanor possession of marijuana, said McCastle.

And arrested over the weekend was Kenneth Evans, Jr., 18, charged with five counts of theft by taking and felony criminal damage to property, said McCastle.

All of the men are residents of unincorporated north Fayette County. Bond amounts for the four ranged from $12,500 to $48,000.

McCastle said that while on patrol July 10, deputies stopped a suspicious vehicle occupied by Wesley Bowman. Further investigation lead investigators to 215 Vista Lane where evidence of several thefts that had been reported to police were stashed in a wooded location, she said.

At this time, investigators have been able to connect four suspects to approximately five copper thefts occurring in unincorporated Fayette County along with other criminal charges, said McCastle.

McCastle said the five counts of felony theft by taking involved four residential construction sites on Tillman Road and a Sandy Creek Road site where two trailers were entered.

She said copper tubing and valves worth in excess of $12,000 were stolen at the Tillman Road sites. Significant property damage was done at the residences, including water damage at one of the sites when the water to the home was not cut off prior to cutting the water lines to remove the valves. Another $4,000 in copper tubing was stolen at the Sandy Creek Road location, McCastle said.

The charges involving theft of government property resulted from officers’ discovery of 52 street signs found at the Vista Lane location.

McCastle said the investigation into the thefts is ongoing.

More than $86,000 in thefts of recyclable materials, mainly copper, have been reported across Fayette county during 2008. Many of the burglary targets were churches.

“The Fayette County Sheriff’s Office continues to work diligently to combat theft,” McCastle said. “In recent months copper theft has been a hot item. New homes and commercial property under construction as well as vacant houses and air condition units seem to be prominent targets for copper thieves.”