Yesterday evening, State Rep Borris Miles (D-Houston) shot and wounded a man who was attempting to steal copper wiring from a house that Miles is having built near the medical complex in south central Houston.
Two men were caught in the act of removing the copper wire from outside Miles’ house while Miles was inside attempting to patch a water leak caused by a previous copper filching operation. Upon being challenged by Miles, one of the two thieves threw a small knife at Miles. Miles then drew a 9 mm pistol that he carries, he has a concealed weapon permit, and fired one round into the assailant’s left leg.
The wounded thief is currently under arrest at Ben Taub Hospital. His accomplice got away on foot and has not been identified.
Copper, along with aluminum and bronze, is highly prized among thieves right now due to the high resale price. Copper, at the moment, brings up to 5 dollars per pound, in part due to a 2 week long strike at the Coldeco copper mine in Chile. Coldeco is the world’s largest supplier of copper. Recent strikes have driven up the price of copper to such an extent that it is being stolen in epidemic proportions.
Ironically, last May Miles was one of 142 state reps that voted for HB 1766. Authored this past February by Aaron Peña, this was a bill that increased the penalty for those convicted of stealing copper, aluminum and bronze if the value of the stolen metal is less than $20,000, making it a mandatory jail felony. The bill, signed into law on June 15th doesn’t take effect until September 1st.
The wounded thief was charged with aggravated burglary.
Miles was not hurt in the incident.
Two men were caught in the act of removing the copper wire from outside Miles’ house while Miles was inside attempting to patch a water leak caused by a previous copper filching operation. Upon being challenged by Miles, one of the two thieves threw a small knife at Miles. Miles then drew a 9 mm pistol that he carries, he has a concealed weapon permit, and fired one round into the assailant’s left leg.
The wounded thief is currently under arrest at Ben Taub Hospital. His accomplice got away on foot and has not been identified.
Copper, along with aluminum and bronze, is highly prized among thieves right now due to the high resale price. Copper, at the moment, brings up to 5 dollars per pound, in part due to a 2 week long strike at the Coldeco copper mine in Chile. Coldeco is the world’s largest supplier of copper. Recent strikes have driven up the price of copper to such an extent that it is being stolen in epidemic proportions.
Ironically, last May Miles was one of 142 state reps that voted for HB 1766. Authored this past February by Aaron Peña, this was a bill that increased the penalty for those convicted of stealing copper, aluminum and bronze if the value of the stolen metal is less than $20,000, making it a mandatory jail felony. The bill, signed into law on June 15th doesn’t take effect until September 1st.
The wounded thief was charged with aggravated burglary.
Miles was not hurt in the incident.
