Three men arrested for trying to steal $15,000 of scrap metal

By George P. Hassett

Three men were arrested Friday in connection with an attempted heist of $15,000 worth of scrap metal.

  The attempted theft took place at Prospect Iron and Steel at 40 Bennett St., police said. The business‚Äô owner had requested a police detail at the site to curb the repeated larcenies, police said. Over the last four months, one ton of metal has been stolen from the property, according to the owner.   
  On Friday at 6 p.m., Officer Michael Keily was on a detail at Prospect Iron and Steel when he heard the sound of metal moving, he said. He turned and looked in the direction of the noise and allegedly saw Steven Milonopolos, 38, of 221 Pearl St. climbing up the wall built to stop illegal entry onto the site.
  As Milonopolos raised his right leg over the wall he saw Keily and started to flee the area, Keily wrote in his report. Keily chased Milonopolos but was slowed down by the piles of metal in the yard. As he chased the suspect, Keily called in a description of Milonopolos and another officer spotted him in the Twin Cities parking lot and arrested him for trespassing and outstanding warrants he had.          
   Police said Milonopolis asked to speak with detectives after being given his Miranda rights and agreed to an interview. He made incriminating statements involving himself and Patrick Senn, 37, of 219 Pearl St., and Richard Mercauto, 44, of 221 Pearl St., police said in thefts over the last four months.   
   Senn and Mercauto were arrested near their homes by Somerville police four hours later and each were charged with breaking and entering in the daytime for a felony and larceny over $250.
  Capt. Paul Upton said larcenies involving the theft of metals has been a ‚Äúhuge problem‚Äù inside the Route 495 beltway for the last year. He said he planned to share the information surrounding Friday‚Äôs arrest with other cities and towns to see if Milonopolis and his crew were responsible for thefts outside the city also.
  Upton said the increase in metal larcenies is ‚Äúmarket driven‚Äù and has coincided with the significant rise in metal values. Copper, he said, is the most sought after metal for thieves.
  On April 25, a Somerville woman came home to see a man trying to pull the drain pipes off the side of her home, according to police records. Manuel Sheehan, 21, of 20 Everett Ave., allegedly ran away from the home with two pieces of drain pipe when the woman came home. Upton said police recently arrested three men inside a Beacon St. home in the middle of renovations stealing pipes and metals.
  ‚ÄúWe‚Äôve been hit with some of these larcenies, no question,‚Äù he said.
   Upton said the metal thefts, like many larcenies, are in part being committed by people supporting drug habits. ‚ÄúPeople have a need for more drugs than they can afford, so drugs are fueling some of [the larcenies]."