FAIRBANKS — A 28-year-old North Pole man is accused of stealing nearly a ton of copper from Eielson Air Force Base.

Raymond Weber, a technician for the Air National Guard, was arrested Saturday after Alaska State Troopers and Eielson Security Forces concluded he had stolen six 300-pound spools of copper wire from an Eielson warehouse.

The spools were reported missing June 16. A trooper contacted Fairbanks recycling yard employees, who reported Weber had been delivering a lot of copper wire.

Weber reportedly was a longtime customer of C & R Pipe and Steel Inc., the company where he allegedly recycled the copper wire. An investigation determined Weber turned in unusual amounts of copper wire between June 16 and June 20. Weber brought in 659 pounds of copper wire and was paid $1,548. The wire was consistent with the wire reported stolen from the Air Force, according to investigators.

As a guardsman, Weber had access to Eielson Air Force Base. Eielson police contacted Weber’s guard unit, who contacted Weber. Police drove to Weber’s home on Seavy Drive in North Pole. When they arrived, they reportedly saw Weber and his wife loading unknown material into his truck. Weber left and reportedly returned 20 minutes later from a place on Nelson Road.

When questioned, Weber said the wire was found at the landfill on base, Eielson police said. He said he had loaded the wire in his truck, taken it home and removed it from its spools.

Police contacted the landfill operator, who said he hadn’t seen the wire there. The landfill is listed as a restricted area with permission needed from the base commander to enter, investigators noted. Eielson police said there is no record of Weber receiving permission.

Police found piles of scrap wood in Weber’s back yard that could have been from wire spools. Weber said he’d sold the wire to a man in Fairbanks for $900.

Weber reportedly told investigators he knew his story was hard to believe, even for him. He said he was the “luckiest guy” to find that much wire.