PA Man Charged In Copper Pipe Theft From Brick Business: Police

BRICK, NJ — A Pennsylvania man who had a string of arrest warrants has been charged in the theft of copper pipe from a Brick Township business, Brick Township police said Saturday.

Joshua J. Rickline, 38, of Easton, PA, was arrested Friday afternoon after police spotted a van in Brick that matched the description of the one sought in the copper theft that occurred Tuesday, Nov. 29, at Brick Heating and Cooling, Sgt. Neal Pedersen said.

The van, seen on surveillance video, was a white full-size van with a round bubble window on the side. Shortly after 4 p.m. Friday, Officer Ryan Talty from the township's Selective Enforcement Team was patrolling the area of Walmart in an unmarked police vehicle and saw a white Ford Econoline van that matched the description of the van, which had been given out to police during a briefing earlier Friday, Pedersen said.

Officer Talty saw the van leave Walmart and get onto Route 70 eastbound, and then saw it make a right onto Jack Martin Boulevard, Pedersen said. While Talty was following the van, the driver failed to stop at a stop sign and use the turn signal, he said, so Talty pulled the van over.

The driver was identified at Joshua Rickline Jr., Pedersen said.

Officers Frank Mauro and Dominick Puccio from the SET Team responded to assist, along with Detective Dan Waleski, who was investigating the case, he said.

It was determined that Rickline had several arrest warrants out, from Greenwich Township totaling $2,500, Sayreville, $500, and Phillipsburg, $73. His driver’s license also was suspended, and Rickline had a no-bail National Crime Information Center warrant from Easton, Pedersen said.

Rickline was arrested on the strength of the warrants, then was charged by Waleski with burglary and theft in the incident at Brick Heating and Cooling, Pedersen said. He also was issued motor vehicle violations for driving while suspended, failure to signal and failure to observe a stop sign, Pedersen said.

The Brick Heating and Cooling theft occurred in the early hours of Nov. 29, police said. The suspect, identified as Rickline, cut locks on storage trailers, loaded a white van with 10-foot lengths of copper piping, then left, with the van's rear doors open, the long lengths of copper sticking out of the rear of the van. police said.

Pedersen said the copper is valued at more than $500.

Bail was set at $25,ooo, no 10 percent, on the burglary and theft charges by Brick Township Municipal Court Judge Joseph Grisanti, he said.

Surveillance photo via Brick Township Police; Joshua J. Rickline via Ocean County Corrections Department