Pontiac Man Suspected of Looting Metal From Bloomfield Township Business

A Pontiac man charged with stealing metal parts off of buildings in Auburn Hills and Troy over the weekend is also suspected of similar crimes in Bloomfield Township, police said.

Richard Campau, 51, was arrested Friday night by a special team of investigators from Auburn Hills, Bloomfield Township, and Troy, while trying to cut apart bleachers and basketball hoops from a shuttered school in Pontiac, the Detroit News reported.

He was arraigned in 52-3 District Court in Rochester Hills Saturday on two counts of larceny and one count of possessing dangerous drugs — heroin, court records show. He remained at the Oakland County Jail Monday night on $35,000 bond. He did not have an attorney listed in court records as of Monday. Charges against a 31-year-old co-defendant from Pontiac that was also arrested Friday are pending.

Additional charges could be filed against Campau soon as detectives continue to investigate his ties to at least one recent metal theft in the township, Bloomfield Township Police Sgt. Kurtis Dudek said.

Though he would not provide specifics, Dudek confirmed Campau is a suspect in were taken from the outside of . The theft was recently reported, but police do not yet know exactly when it happened. Dudek said they are also looking for any connection to a handful of metal thefts from commercial properties over the past year.

Police sources told the Detroit News that investigators identified Campau with security camera footage from one of several buildings in Auburn Hills where suspects looted three back flow preventers and other parts. Campau then allegedly sold the materials to various scrap yards for cash.