The Polk County Sheriff’s Office says it’s searching for a central Florida suspect who stole 166 manhole covers worth over $22,000 in Poinciana.
Detectives have identified Christopher Fink, 40, of Haines City as the suspect and have obtained an arrest warrant for him, the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
The manhole covers were stolen from Village 7 in Poinciana sometime between Jan. 9 and Jan. 23, with the Toho Water Authority reporting them missing on the latter date, according to the sheriff’s office.
The thefts took place on Lake Marion Creek Road and on several side streets. Detectives learned that Fink was responsible for stealing the covers and then trying to scrap them at secondhand metal dealers, the sheriff’s office said.
It said that Fink is being charged by warrant with one count each of grand theft, dealing in stolen property and giving false verification to a secondhand metal dealer, all felonies.
More charges are pending once Fink is located and arrested, the sheriff’s office said. It was not immediately known whether Fink has an attorney.
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