Cedar Rapids man charged with stealing more than $130,000 worth of copper and wiring

CEDAR RAPIDS — A Cedar Rapids man was arrested this week on charges that he stole more than $130,000 worth of copper and motor windings from a company that rebuilds locomotive motors in southwest Cedar Rapids.

Travis Vomacka, 42, is charged with first-degree criminal mischief, first-degree theft and conspiracy to commit forcible felony.

Wabtec Locomotive, at 4200 Thomas Dr. SW, reported there was a burglary April 11on its property. Two people forced open a compressor room door to the shop and stole welders inside. Video surveillance caught them leaving the shop through a different door, according to a criminal complaint.

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After the burglary, the company discovered that someone had been opening and getting into the large locomotive traction motors kept in the yard. The company put up cameras near the motors.

On April 21, the cameras captured video of multiple people, who arrived in the same car that the two people had come in before, doing some kind of work on the locomotive traction motors. They left before police arrived, but one of the people on video was identified by a police investigator as Vomacka. The vehicle being used was identified as belonging to Vomacka, the complaint states.

Another burglary happened May 3 on the property, when surveillance video captured images of two people opening the same compressor door that had been forced open before and leaving with several items. They came and left in Vomacka’s car, the complains states.

The vehicle returned to the property May 4. That night, Vomacka was apprehended by Cedar Rapids police in the car. Police, with a warrant, searched the car and found large hand tools, a length of chain, a hydraulic jack and a piece of iron beam similar to iron beams in the yard at Wabtec, the complaint said.

Wabtec determined that $136,385.89 worth of copper and other parts had been removed from several of the motors during the multiple thefts. There also were chains, beams and pulleys set up to help take the motors apart, causing damage to them. The company estimated the total cost of the thefts and the repair and replacement needed to be $148,336.87.

Some of the copper was sold to CC Recycling in Cedar Rapids by someone that police believe is associated with Vomacka, the complaint states.

Vomacka had his first appearance in court Wednesday and was being held in the Linn County Jail on $20,000 bail.

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