Hermiston police arrest pair for metal wire theft

Two people are behind bars after Hermiston police say they attempted to steal metal from a hospital and a heating and cooling business north of Hermiston.

Hermiston police say they were called out to Good Shepherd Hospital at 4 p.m. on September 10th for reports of an attempted theft. Officers say they reviewed security video and watched a man and woman attempting to steal 2 spools of high voltage copper wire valued at $2,000 from inside a storage room. Officers say a roaming security employee interrupted them and both ran off in a Suzuki SUV.

Officers say later the Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office reported a theft just occurred at a heating and cooling business and officers believed that both Jonathan Price and Maria Martinez were responsible for the theft.

Around 6:40PM an officer pulled over an older Chevrolet S10 pickup matching the description from the Umatilla County case. Officers say they arrested Price who is from Hermiston and Martinez who is from Irrigon.

Both were charged and lodged on 1 count of Burglary in the Second Degree and 1 count of Theft in the First Degree.

The Umatilla Police Department provided assistance in this investigation as the pair is believed to have been staying at a motel in their community.