TYLER, Texas — Smith County deputies on Thursday arrested a man accused of stealing copper from A/C units at a Flint church, causing over $34,000 in damage earlier this month.
Michael James Hudson, 20, of Smith County, has been charged with criminal mischief on a $300,000 bond.
According to the sheriff's office, a person, who was later identified as Hudson, entered the property of The Carpenter’s Baptist Church on June 5 and dismantled five A/C units and stripped the copper wire.
The damage resulted in a replacement cost of $34,250 for the units. Investigators later found that Hudson sold a large amount of copper wiring to a local scrap yard in Tyler on June 6, the sheriff's office said.
On Thursday, deputies came to the Pine Trails Shores subdivision, where Hudson lives, and found him driving toward Highway 155. Hudson then sped through the stop sign at Highway 155 and when the deputy closed in, he decided to pull over.
Hudson was then arrested and booked into the jail. He was also charged with possession of a drug test falsification Device with a $500 bond.