Iowa Man Gets 37 Months for Role in Copper Theft Ring

A 32-year-old western Iowa man has been given 37 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy to steal copper from center pivot irrigation systems.

Federal prosecutors say Jonathan Campbell was sentenced on Tuesday. He’d pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit interstate transport of stolen property. Campbell was ordered to pay more than $174,000 in restitution.

Copper control cables were stolen from farms ranging from Sioux City south to near St. Joseph, Mo., from late 2009 until summer 2010. Prosecutors say the cable was sold to a salvage yard in Omaha, Neb., on at least 73 occasions.

Two other Council Bluffs men involved have been sentenced already. Thirty-five-year old Charles Nichols was given 31 months, and 30-year-old Joseph Falknor was given 12 months and a day.