PAWNEE CITY – Pawnee County has filed theft charges against three Humboldt residents alleging theft of copper wire from irrigation pivots.

Sheriff Braden Lang told the court that wire and other components were stolen from irrigation pivots at seven locations in Pawnee County between May and October of 2022.

The Nemaha County Sheriff’s Office reported suspects Chase Ramer, 37, Rickey Long, 40, and Kimberly Hoagland, 36. A search of their Humboldt residences revealed copper wiring and five-gallon buckets of aluminum shielding, matching description of components stolen from the pivot irrigation equipment.

Sheriff Lang said deputies suspect the men cut the wire from the pivot and Hoagland collected it. An arrest affidavit says the wire was taken to a bridge in Pawnee County, where the rubber was burned from the wire. It was then sold for scrap.

The three are charged with seven counts of felony theft of property owned by Richard Binder, Lynn Binder, Greg Krueger and Steven Schaardt.