SHERIFF WAYNE IVEY: Morse Communications Employee ‘Bites the Hand That Feeds Him’ in Massive Copper Theft

Scrap Copper Theft Investigation Leads Michael Shinabarger to ‘Ivey’s Iron Bar Lodge

SHERIFF IVEY: Hopefully, Shinabarger will rethink his career as a thief because, clearly, he sucks at it.

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – It is said that you should never bite the hand that feeds you, and of course, in Brevard County, there is a similar saying that says: don’t steal other people’s crap or you will go to Ivey’s Iron Bar Lodge on a felony.

Ok, maybe they aren’t the same, but you get the point, and so did Michael Shinabarger, who learned that lesson the hard way by stealing from his employer, Morse Communications.

This case started after General Crimes Agent Jesse Moore responded to Morse Communication, who realized that their company had not received any money for their scrap copper, and even more interesting, their scrap copper was nowhere to be found at their business.

Of course, as you might imagine, they had surveillance cameras, and once they started reviewing them, they saw Shinabarger periodically stealing the scrap copper, dating as far back as March.

Once figuring out that Shinabarger was, in a sense, biting the hand that feeds him, they went to the scrap yard and discovered that Shinabarger had been scrapping the copper under his stepfather’s account and, of course, keeping the money for himself.

In total, he scrapped approximately 13,000 pounds of copper wire and, in return, made over $14,000.

With all the evidence in hand, Agent Jesse Moore helped Shinabarger find his new place to live at Ivey’s Iron Bar lodge for Grand Theft, Dealing in Stolen Property, and False Verification of Ownership to a Secondhand Dealer.

Hopefully, Shinabarger will rethink his career as a thief because, clearly, he sucks at it.

– Sheriff Wayne Ivey

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