Two charged with stealing copper wire from Harley-Davidson

MENOMONEE FALLS (WITI) -- A Milwaukee man and woman are charged with stealing copper from the Harley-Davidson plant in Menomonee Falls.

25-year-old Jaren Brezovar and 32-year-old Tammy Ilk are charged with movable property theft.

An employee at Harley-Davidson noticed a suspicious pressure washing truck on site doing a job. The people running it were apparently also taking and loading scrap onto the truck.

After looking at surveillance video, Harley-Davidson security noticed the same truck was on site four different times between September 14th and October 5th. The two suspects were in the truck all four times.

The motor company discovered that pressure washing company's contract expired three months before -- and it was Ilk who signed in at the security gate as a ruse.

Two days later, Harley-Davidson and Menomonee Falls Police set up a sting. An officer hid on-site and allegedly watched them pull up in the same truck. Ilk signed in and washed the trucks while Brezovar grabbed the scrap copper wire from the metal recycling bins. They were arrested on the spot.

The criminal complaint says the two admitted to all the thefts. The defendants apparently either split the money or used it to buy heroin.

The complaint also indicates one of the defendant's relatives was also in on the copper thefts. She has not been charged.

FOX6 News calls to Harley-Davidson were not returned on Wednesday. The pressure wash company where the two defendants worked declined to comment.