Felony Charges For Copper Theft Added To Man Held On No Bail

Additional charges have been filed against a man arrested and charged last week after fentanyl, methamphetamine, other drugs, paraphernalia, and items used for drug dealing were discovered in his home earlier this month. According to the Affidavit of Probable Cause, agents with the Uintah Basin Narcotics Strike Force assisted the Uintah County Sheriff’s Office in executing an 8th District Court search warrant at the residence of Kelly Wayne Porritt regarding a theft investigation. Porritt was arrested and charged with 2nd Degree Felony Possession of Controlled Substance with Intent to Distribute, among other charges. While being held on no bail, new charges have been added, including 2nd Degree Felony Criminal Mischief and 2nd Degree Felony Theft. This is related to alleged events on September 29th and 30th during which $15,000 to $20,000 of copper wiring was cut and stripped from an oil field location directly across from the Ballard City Office. On October 2nd, a white pickup truck with a camper shell matching the surveillance description was located at Porritt’s residence, with a five-gallon bucket containing stripped and bundled copper wiring in the bed, green and colored wire coating on the sidewalk and porch, wire cutters, mud consistent with the oil field, and a chunk of copper wire in conduit. Mechanical tools used to strip copper and multiple pieces of copper and insulation were found during the search of the home. Porritt admitted to stealing the copper wire from the location across from the Ballard Office, drew a map of the area, and stated he had sold some of the copper to a scrap yard on the Wasatch Front. Separate charges of 3rd Degree Felony Theft and 3rd Degree Felony Burglary were also added connected to the theft of 13 aluminum truck rims valued at $2,600 that were located on Porritt’s property during the search warrant.