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Walter Chesnut just wanted to feed his family. So, since about February, he’s been on a unique stealing spree: he’s been taking manhole covers from the Wynwood neighborhood and selling them for about $25 each.
According to Open Media Miami, Chesnut strolled the Wynwood neighbor late at night with a flashlight affixed to his baseball cap. He’d jack manhole covers and then put them in a shopping cart covered by cardboard boxes.
Chesnut said he could get about $0.25 a pound for the metal. Each cover weighs about 100 pounds, so Chesnut was making a profit of about $25 per cover.
Authorities say that about 30 manhole covers have gone missing from Wynwood since February, and about 150 are missing county-wide. However, it’s unlikely that Chesnut is the only culprit in manhole cover-theft. Replacing all of the covers will cost the county about $3,300.
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Chesnut told police he was just trying to feed his family with the money. He now faces up to five years in jail and a $5,000 fine.
[Open Media Miami: Man charged with stealing manhole lids in ]
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