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The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Thief Caught Stealing Scrap Metal from East Harlem Construction Site: NYPD

EAST HARLEM — A man was arrested for pilfering materials from a construction site amid a rash of similar thefts in the neighborhood, police said. 

David Baker, 48, was caught red-handed by a security guard from Arco Management Corporation who witnessed him hopping a construction fence to swipe scrap metal from a site at 2253 Third Ave. on June 5 around 5:50 p.m., police and prosecutors said.

The thief took the metal and threw it over the fence before placing it in a cart, court records show.

Baker also admitted to stealing copper piping from a church at 47 E. 129th St. in April, prosecutors said. 

A slew of power tools and other items have been swiped from multiple East Harlem work sites dating back to March. In one case the same worksite was hit twice, with more than $12,000 in tools stolen, police said. 

Baker has not been implicated in those incidents.

He was charged with three counts of third-degree robbery, and his bail was set at $7,500 cash or $15,000 bond.

His lawyer could not be reached for comment.