WEATHERFORD, Texas — Four people are accused of stealing more than $40,000 in lumber and building materials from residential construction sites in Aledo and Weatherford, the Parker County Sheriff's Office announced Friday.
Carlos Mendoza, 45, Ivan Dominguez, 19, Octavio Perez, 18, and Nathan Baez, 17, face felony theft charges in the case.
All four suspects are from Fort Worth, according to the sheriff's office.
Mendoza, Dominguez and Baez have been arrested. Authorities are still searching for Perez.
Dominguez and Baez have been released from jail on bond. Mendoza remained in custody Friday on an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer.
The stolen materials have been recovered and returned to the owners, officials said.
Deputies in June had responded to several reports of theft in Parker County, where dozens of new windows and hundreds of sheets of plywood were stolen from homes under construction.
The windows were valued at more than $5,000 and the lumber was estimated to be worth more than $40,000.
Investigators found surveillance video that showed the suspects taking the items from the Morning Star housing addition and loading the materials onto trucks, according to the sheriff's office.
Investigators eventually tracked the suspects to addresses in Fort Worth, where they found the stolen materials and lumber stored under tarps in the backyards.
The sheriff's office in a news release Friday said the suspects are also connected to thefts of construction materials in Tarrant and Johnson counties.
The sheriff's office was still investigating the thefts this week. Once the investigation is done, the cases will be forwarded to the Parker County District Attorney's Office, Sheriff Russ Authier said.
