Jesse J. Wohlrabe, 26. Fremont, and Dean J. Schroth, 22, Milwaukee, were charged in Waupaca County Circuit Court with burglary and theft.
Wohlrabe also faces an additional charge of felony bail jumping.
On Sept. 20, 2012, a break-in was reported at the E9400 block of Kanaman Road in the town of Caledonia.
A 55-gallon barrel filled with scrap copper was reported stolen from a machine shed.
The victim suspected Wohlrabe due to his alleged involvement in a similar theft the previous year.
Detective Sgt. John Mocadlo, with the Waupaca County Sheriff’s Department, began investigating the incident.
He found reports by other detectives implicating Wohlrabe in the sale of stolen scrap metal.
In January, Mocadlo and another detective questioned Schroth at the New London Police Department regarding the theft of the scrap copper.
According to the criminal complaint, Schroth told Mocadlo he drove Wohlrabe to the property in Caledonia, dropped him off and drove around until Wohlrabe called him on his cellphone.
Schroth reportedly said he then went back to the property, helped Wohlrabe load a blue barrel filled with scrap metal into the back of his truck and hauled it to a scrap yard in Grand Chute.
Mocadlo questioned Wohlrabe at the Waupaca County jail, where he was being held for another incident.
After Mocadlo told Wohlrabe what Schroth had said, Wohlrabe denied stealing the copper.
Wohlrabe said he was just riding along with Schroth when he sold the copper to a scrap yard, according to the criminal complaint.
Mocadlo visited the recycling center in Grand Chute and obtained a weight slip indicating the receipt of a barrel of scrap copper.
Wohlrabe’s name is on the document, which also indicated he had been paid $1,258 for the materials, the complaint says.
At the time of the theft of the copper, Wohlrabe was on a signature bond after being charged with burglary.