5 accused of stealing nearly $200,000 worth of copper wire, other items from 2 sawmills in Sabine Parish

MANY, La. (KSLA) — Five people are accused of stealing nearly $200,000 worth of copper wire and other items from two sawmills in Sabine Parish.

Now being held in the Sabine Parish Detention Center or the Sabine Parish Women’s Jail are:

Rebecca Yvonne Desadier, 50, of Florien,
Stephanie Renee Gentes, 37, of Fisher,
Christopher James Knippers, 37, of Fisher,
Darla K. Lewing, 55, of Florien, and,
Randy Lawayne Sanders, 41, of Fisher.

The Sabine Parish Sheriff’s Office posted on Facebook that it received reports in February of about $69,000 worth of copper wire and other items missing from the former Boise Cascade Fisher Sawmill. The site now is being used for storage for Boise Cascade’s Florien operations. Detectives believe that the burglary occurred late last year.

At the end of April, the Broadway Sawmill on Recknor Road reported that more than $100,000 worth of copper wire and other items had been taken from that site sometime that month and that the replacement costs would be even higher.

🚨 Online records show that Gentes was booked at 2:43 p.m. on April 4. She is charged with one count each of simple burglary, felony theft and simple criminal damage to property. Her bonds total $35,000.

🚨 Desadier was booked at 3:55 p.m. May 2 on two counts each of simple burglary, felony theft, and simple criminal damage to property. Her bonds total $60,000.

🚨 Knippers was booked at 7:03 p.m. May 2 on two counts each of simple burglary, felony theft and simple criminal damage to property. He also was arrested on a warrant charging him with second-offense domestic abuse battery (strangulation) and violation of a protective order. His bonds total $85,000.

🚨 Lewing was booked at 7:09 p.m. May 2 on one count each of simple burglary, felony theft and simple criminal damage to property. Her bonds total $35,000.

🚨 And Sanders was booked at 3:25 p.m. May 4 on two counts each of simple burglary, felony theft and simple criminal damage to property. His bonds total $60,000.

Sabine sheriff’s Detective D. Flores said that additional suspects and/or charges are pending.

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