WATERVILLE — Two men, including one wanted for an earlier theft, were arrested Tuesday and charged with stealing thousands of dollars worth of copper flashing from the roof of the former Boys & Girls Club near downtown.

One of the men, Kevin Killion, was also charged Tuesday with stealing copper grounding wire from telephone poles in the Gilman Street and Morrill Avenue area Aug. 23, according to Detective Alan Perkins, who investigated the case. Perkins said Killion escaped police capture at the time.

On Tuesday, Killion, 24, who is listed as a transient, and Kirk Baumgardner, 25, of 9B Union St., were charged with burglary and theft in the former Boys & Girls Club building theft at 6 Main Place when about 80 feet of copper flashing was stolen, Perkins said. He valued the flashing between $3,000 and $4,000 on the retail market.

Perkins arrested Killion at 11:30 a.m. in front of Walmart and he was taken to Kennebec County jail in Augusta.

Then Perkins and Detective Chris Paradis went to Baumgardner’s apartment on Union Street with a search warrant and arrested him and charged him with burglary and theft.

“We recovered some of the copper from the (former Boys & Girls Club) roof at a scrap metal yard,” Perkins said. He said Killion and Baumgardner sold the items to the scrap yård.

He said the two men helped police in locating the stolen items.

They included 3-foot-wide pieces of copper flashing, Perkins said.

“They got a little over $600 from the scrap yard for the flashing they sold,” he said.

Killion is scheduled to appear in Kennebec County Superior Court at 8:30 a.m. Nov. 15. Baumgardner is scheduled to appear Nov. 29.

Perkins said police were able to link Killion with the Aug. 23 copper grounding wire theft in the Gilman Street and Morrill Avenue area by interviewing people at a home Killion reportedly had visited that evening. With Killion at the time was Timothy Sean Hill, 23, of Alabama. Hill was arrested Aug. 23 after police chased him through the woods off Morrill Avenue, but Killion escaped.

Perkins said detectives will be reviewing the copper flashing case with the District Attorney’s Office to see if more counts will be added to Killion and Baumgardner’s burglary and theft charges.

Meanwhile, Deputy police Chief Charles Rumsey said Wednesday that scrap metal thefts are increasing.

“There’s no question we could tie up a detective full time working on scrap metal thefts,” he said. “It’s become so pervasive that it’s just incredible.”

Amy Calder — 861-9247

acalder@centralmaine.com