Manhole Cover Thief Sentenced to 180 Days
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One of two men who pleaded guilty to stealing hundreds of manhole covers, storm drain gates and water meter covers to sell for scrap metal was sentenced Wednesday to 180 days in County Jail.
Efrain Deleon Barrios, 19, was also placed on three years formal probation by Superior Court Judge James Pierce. The other defendant, Antonio Lopez, 23, is to be sentenced Tuesday.
The two pleaded guilty earlier this month to two counts of receiving stolen property and one count of grand theft.
Barrios and Lopez were arrested July 18 on suspicion of stealing manhole covers, storm drain grates and water meter covers in Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica and Vernon. Authorities said the pair stole the objects during a nine-day spree to sell for scrap metal.
Officers confiscated more than 300 covers and grates weighing about a ton, which the two were about to sell for $75, police said.
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