2 SouthSide Men Charged with Stealing Copper Pipes

Two men from Bethlehem’s Wyandotte Street admitted to police they broke into three SouthSide homes – one of them also on Wyandotte – and stole two-inch copper pipes that they sold to a Hellertown recycling facility, according to court records.

Joel Colon, 31, of 702 Wyandotte St., 1A, and Raul Vazquez Jr., 40, of 905 Wyandotte St. are charged with breaking into three homes – 627 Wyandotte, 613 Pawnee St. and 918 Carlton Ave. – between Aug. 11 and Nov. 23, the records say.

The men told police they sold the pipes to H. Blinderman & Son at 1320 Whitaker St. Police said the pipes taken from 627 Wyandotte were valued at $500 and the pipes from 613 Pawnee were valued at $2,000. The records did not list the value of the pipes taken from 918 Carlton.

The charges were filed by Det. Fabian Martinez, who in August began an investigation into a number of south side burglaries. The targets were houses that were for sale and those undergoing remodeling, the records say.

The investigation found that Colon and Vazquez had been taking two-inch copper pipes and brass to the Blinderman facility “on a regular basis” since Aug. 16. Martinez interviewed both men Wednesday and they admitted to the actions, the records say.

Colon and Vazquez each were charged with three counts of burglary, three counts of theft by unlawful taking, three counts of receiving stolen property and one count of conspiracy – burglary. They were arraigned Wednesday before District Judge Todd Strohe of Bangor and taken to Northampton County Prison after each failed to post 10 percent of $20,000 bail.