Second suspect arrested in theft of brass sidewalk lights
A man wanted on suspicion of stealing 147 decorative brass sidewalk lights turned himself in to authorities Thursday after he was approached by a homeless man who recognized him from fliers handed out by Deputy City Marshals investigators in Las Vegas.
Antwon Maurice Simmons, 31, is charged with five counts of possession of stolen property and one count of theft and removal of certain property to obtain scrap metal, city officials said. If convicted of all charges, he faces up to 24 years in prison, officials said. Simmons was booked Thursday into the Clark County Detention Center.
Simmons is the second suspect to be arrested in connection with the case. The other is Michael S. Payne, 47, who was arrested July 12 and booked on charges of theft and possession of stolen property.
Each light has a value of about $580, putting the total value for all the sidewalk lights at about $85,260. That value doesn’t include labor costs. The lights were installed along Fourth Street in the 1990s to brighten up the trees there.
The light housings, located along a center median, were pulled from the ground at night. After the brass housings were removed, grates were put back in place to give the appearance that the brass housing was still intact.
The brass pieces were sold at SA Recycling, 1701 Western Ave., and Lakewood Recycling, 1609 Stocker Ave., in North Las Vegas.
Investigators tied Simmons to the case with the assistance of employees at SA Recycling, who became suspicious about the materials. Investigators have traced 51 brass housing systems valued at $34,680 to Simmons using documentation from the recycling center, according to the police report.
Payne has been tied to transactions involving 546 pounds of brass housings and received more than $1,000 for them, according to police.
Simmons remained in jail Thursday evening with bail set at $45,000. Payne was not listed Thursday as an inmate at the detention center.
Contact reporter Ben Botkin at bbotkin@reviewjournal.com or 702-405-9781. Follow him on Twitter @BenBotkin1.
