FALLS CITY -  A suspect in the theft of copper wire from irrigation pivots in three counties of southeast Nebraska has been sentenced to probation in a separate methamphetamine case.

Rickey Long, 40, of Humboldt was sentenced to probation for 12 months for misdemeanor attempted possession after a felony charge of possession of over 140 grams of methamphetamine was dropped.

The Richardson County Sheriff’s Office arrested Long and several other suspects on the drug charge during a narcotics investigation linking seven pounds of meth to dealers in Kansas. Court records say in one incident Long traveled to Kansas City to collect money that had been stolen during a drug deal gone bad,  but once he got money he was ripped off again trying to buy meth in Topeka.

Long is also a suspect in stealing copper wire from irrigation pivots within a 30-mile radius of Nemaha and Pawnee counties. A farmer alerted deputies to cigarette butts under a pivot that had been damaged and the Nebraska State Patrol Crime Laboratory linked DNA on the cigarette to a DNA swab taken from Long under a court order.

A search of Long’s residence in Humboldt yielded copper wire and aluminum sheathing.

https://rivercountry.newschannelnebraska.com/story/49385370/dna-testing-gives-deputy-lead-in-pivot-irrigation-thefts