Massive copper theft foiled at Marietta hospital expansion site, convicted felon arrested

MARIETTA, Ga. - Marietta police say a man stole hundreds of pounds of copper from a construction site at a local hospital.

Wellstar Kennestone Hospital in Marietta has a major expansion underway. They're adding a 9-story tower with more than 150 beds.

"The construction site at Kennestone Wellstar Hospital had someone who got inside with bad intentions. It appeared they were moving materials from around the construction site," said Marietta Police Officer Chuck McPhilamy.

Investigators say those items were copper tubing and large spools of heavy-duty copper wire.

A subcontractor called 911 and gave a description of the man, his truck and the direction he was heading.

Police caught up with the man and his pickup filled with copper wire just down the road.

"We're talking about an individual who methodically removed 14 spools, each one having up to 2000 feet of cable on it," said Officer McPhilamy.

That's about $7,000 worth of copper. Investigators believe the man had planned to steal more.

"He got all of the material staged outside the door, don't know what spooked him, but he got all the copper wire in the truck, but left a bunch of copper tubing," said Officer McPhilamy.

When officers approached the driver they discovered he had a gun.

"The gun was on the driver's floorboard within easy reach," said Officer McPhilamy.

Police checked out the man in the truck, identified as 53-year-old James Ivey with a Decatur address. Investigators say he is a convicted felon who was driving on a suspended license. Police say the gun had been stolen in an entering auto case in another county.

Police credited the quick arrest to the subcontractor who called 911.

"If not for the good witness of the contractor, this individual could have gotten away with a theft of thousands of dollars worth of items meant for a local hospital," said Officer McPhilamy.