A Levittown man was arraigned last week in Bucks County on charges he stole copper from locations throughout the region.
Michael Gragilla, 30, of Bristol Township’s Levittown section, was charged with 27 felony counts including charges of theft, receiving stolen property and criminal mischief. He was arraigned and set free after posting 10 percent of $500,000 bail.
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Bensalem police, who took part a multi-county investigation, said they used DNA left behind by Gragilla to match him to the thefts.
Gragilla was charged with various copper thefts in Falls, Bensalem, Newtown, Northampton and Warminster. He is also accused of thefts in two Delaware County communities.
Police said Gragilla sold the copper for scrap in Bristol Township and Philadelphia.
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In total, the 30 year old caused more than $67,000 worth of property damage since his theft spree started in October 2013, police said.
Police said Gragilla was injured in March when he suffered electrical burns in Delaware County. Authorities allege the Levittown resident was shocked when he was toying around at PECO facility. Court papers say investigators found charred items and a damaged voltage tester at the PECO site.
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Investigators took sample of DNA at multiple crime scene and used it to link Gragilla to many of the copper thefts, police said.
Gragilla was recently charged with 17 felony and misdemeanor county including risking a catastrophe, criminal trespass and possession instrument of a crime in Lower Moreland, Montgomery County. He is currently free on bail in that case. He is also facing a sumary trial in a minor shoplifting case out of Tullytown.
