United States Attorney John E. Murphy announced that in Midland this morning, 38-year-old Sean Michael Geer, of Odessa, pleaded guilty to stealing copper wire from a drilling rig and thereby causing a substantial interruption and impairment of its function.
Appearing before United States Magistrate Judge David Counts, Geer pleaded guilty to the federal charge of destruction of an energy facility. By pleading guilty, Geer acknowledged that on February 16, 2011, he and co-defendant Leslie Gayle Hurst burglarized a RigCo yard in Odessa and stole a large amount of copper wire from a drilling rig owned by Girdnal Oilfield Services. Geer admitted that their intention was to sell the copper wire, the value of which has increased substantially over the last two years, for scrap in order to make money. Law enforcement officers discovered the pair in a Budget Inn hotel room in Odessa the next day, along with several large rolls of copper wire they had taken.
The costs of rewiring and repairing the rig are estimated to exceed $100,000.
Hurst, 38, of Odessa, previously entered a guilty plea to the same charge on April 13 and is awaiting sentencing. Both Geer and Hurst face up to 20 years in federal prison, a maximum $250,000 fine and full restitution. Sentencing has yet to be scheduled.
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