Copper thief caught red-handed

Preston, Conn. (WTNH) - An accused copper thief was caught red-handed at a Preston home Tuesday.

Police say Jon Daw Jr. was in a basement, attempting to steal copper pipes, while the residents were just upstairs.

It was the shattering of a sliding glass door, which woke up Stephen Crouch's mother-in-law just after 2:30 Tuesday morning. Immediately she called her son, who then called 911. State and Ledyard police found 28-year-old Daw in the brush below this cement wall.

Daw appeared in Norwich Superior Court with a bandaged left leg where k9 Blaze had bitten him because police say he refused to show his hands.

"It's kind of crazy that they actually broke in while they were upstairs," said Crouch, "that's blatant. I don't know what they were thinking when they did that."

Among the charges is home invasion unarmed burglary because Crouch's elderly in-laws were home.

"I thought that was pretty cool that they caught them," Crouch said. "Usually they get away. You don't hear nothing about it."

The victim tells News 8 she heard a sawing noise coming from the basement. Police found a hack saw and noticed scuff marks on some of the pipes attached to the cellar's ceiling. Daw told police he had been drinking at a nearby bar and doesn't remember how he got into the basement. According to court papers he was carrying brass knuckles.

"I'm glad that they're safe and no one was injured," said Crouch, "because that's happened in the past, that people do get injured. So if he'd probably come down and caught him they might have. You never know about something like that."

The homeowners have quite a mess to clean up, but they're glad that's all they have to deal with. If the pipes were taken the damage would have been much more extensive.