Recycling firm rep goes on trial in metal-theft sting

YAKIMA -- The first witnesses testified this morning in the trial of a Wapato man accused of illegally buying Yakima County road signs in an undercover sting that was meant to target the area's problem with metal theft.

William Ames, 64, faces one count of attempting to traffic in stolen property and one count of failing to properly record the sale, which allegedly happened during an undercover operation at Mid-Valley Recycling in Wapato in September 2006.

The main part of the trial opened this morning in Yakima County Superior Court when deputy prosecutor Troy Clements and defense attorney Doug Garrison of Sunnyside made their opening statements. The trial is expected to last through Thursday before Judge Michael McCarthy.

Yakima County sheriff's deputies set up two different sales in the same week after hearing reports that Mid-Valley was accepting sprinklers, copper wire and other metal that was likely stolen. Metal theft, mostly by drug users, has been a consistent problems for farmers and others here and across the state, authorities say.

Investigators found the road signs, donated from the county road department, when they served a search warrant at the business.

Deputies say Ames agreed to accept the signs, some with county property stickers still attached, if the undercover deputy and his informant would bend or damage them.

Once they came back with the twisted, bent signs, Ames purchased those three and two others, according to testimony by Detective Jeff Perrault, who built the case with help from other investigators but was not involved in the undercover portion.

Clements said Ames knowingly accepted the signs. Furthermore, he made no attempt to record the sellers' identification or the make and model of their vehicle. Instead, he told the undercover detective something to the effect of, "I don't care what name you sign; just don't make it obvious and sign 'John Doe.'"

State law requires specific information about the seller to be included in a logbook available to inspectors. The statute was implemented in an attempt to thwart the sale of stolen property at recycling plants.

Ames' attorney, Doug Garrison of Sunnyside, told the jury Ames didn't accept the signs until they were damaged. The business often did that, only because the signs could no longer be posted for public use, Garrison said.

Garrison said the law does not prohibit possession of road signs. He said Ames had no way of knowing the property was stolen.

He also disputed the idea that Ames owns Mid-Valley Recycling, describing the company as a partnership between other members of the Ames family.

An employee of the business faces a separate trial on similar charges. Judge Jim Lust earlier denied the state's motion to join the cases.

-- Mark Morey

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