Once a Cop, Always a Cop â MC Commissioner McLaughlin Assists with Apprehension
So, there he was Wednesday afternoon, just minding the City of Benwoodâs business, and â out of the blue â the Chief of Police called. âChief (Frank) Longwell said, âThereâs someone in the building again! Iâve got them on camera right now! We need to get in there!â,â said David McLaughlin, one of three members of the Marshall County Commission. âSo, me and Capt. Brian Handzus got a plan together and called Marshall County deputies to come up to the Industrial Park in Benwood, and after we saw him the camera, we went into the main door of the old steel mill,â he explained while he was a guest on the River Networkâs ultra-popular âNovotney Nowâ program. âNo lights, pitch black.â The structure, once a facility operated by Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel before its closure in the early 1980s, is now owned by Mull Industries and is utilized as a storage facility. All of the doors to the interior have been secured, but for several months, thieves have been breaking in. As many as 25 officers and firefighters responded to the chase, search, and arrest at Benwood's industrial park area on Wednesday. (Image: Google Earth) âWe go as far in the building as far as we can in the pitch black, so we turned on the lights and, bam, he is,â the Commissioner recalled. âHe was right there in front of us, and he took off running and then climbed up into the rafters. It was very dangerous, and we didnât know if we were going to see him fall or what. And we were talking to him, too.â As was reported yesterday afternoon by Marshall County Sheriff Mike Dougherty, the perpetrator was identified as Benjamin E. Senkbeil of Wheeling, a male who was reportedly released from Northern Regional Jail earlier this week. Officers from the Marshall County Sheriffâs Office, the West Virginia State Police, the Benwood Police Department, and the Moundsville Police Department responded to the incident, as did the Benwood Volunteer Fire Department. According to Doughterty, Senkbeil was processed and lodged at Northern Regional Jail, and heâs now facing three felony counts of Entry of a Building Other than a Dwelling and with a misdemeanor â Obstructing and Fleeing from an Officer.â Under West Virginia Code, county Prosecutor Joe Canestraro confirmed, the felonies carry a jail sentence of 1 to 10 years, and his magisterial hearing is scheduled for February 9th at 2 p.m. Senkbeil has been charged with three felony counts of Entry of a Building Other than a Dwelling and with a misdemeanor, Obstructing and Fleeing from an Officer. (Photo provided by Commissioner David McLaughlin) And it all started with the chase, and once Senkbeil scaled to the structureâs rafters, he circled McLaughlin and Handzus while trekking along the buildingâs catwalks. âWe kept telling him that he needed to come down because we had him cornered, and he said he was going to, but he just kept moving. It was obvious to us that he wasnât coming down anytime soon,â the commissioner said. âHe also told us that he just wanted to back home to Cleveland, and he just kept climbing up in the rafters, and he was at least 30 feet in the air. âBut then he went through a window and went out on the roof, and by then the units that responded had drones up in the air watching his every step, and they had the dogs on the ground. It was an impressive response, and his capture was inevitable this time,â he explained. âHe was up on that roof in 15-degree weather, so we knew it was only a matter of time.â Commissioner McLaughlin explained Wednesday's incident while he was a guest during The River Network's "Novotney Now" radio program. Career Flashback It felt like a time warp of sorts. McLaughlin retired from the Benwood Police Department following a 21-year career (1992-2013) in law enforcement, and along with his position on the County Commission, he is employed as Benwoodâs Operations Director. Thatâs why heâs very aware there have been so many issues with trespassers, damage, and theft that have caused at least $775,000 in damage, according to officials with Mull Industries. âFor several months now, our police officers have been experiencing issues with people breaking into the building, and theyâve caused a lot of damage and theyâve stolen a lot of copper,â McLaughlin reported. âPolice have caught a lot of them while theyâve been in the act. Itâs not been just a few. Itâs been a lot, and there are cameras everywhere. McLaughlin feared most that the perpetrator would fall from the rafters during the chase, a distance of at least 30 feet. (Image is from a video released by James Mull from Mull Industries) âBut itâs a former steel mill so there are all kinds of nooks and crannies where these people have been hiding when the police have been looking for today. Thatâs why that guy did (on Wednesday) because he was in there this morning,â he said. âBut these guys have been brave because itâs not a safe place in there unless youâre familiar. And itâs pitch black in there, too. âWhen these thieves break in, one of the biggest problems that law enforcement has is that the place is just so big. Sometimes, they just canât find them.â In fact, authorities believe Senkbeil escaped capture earlier yesterday. âIt is believed he was actually there in the morning. We saw him on the cameras, but when they chased him, he disappeared because there are so many hiding places in that mill. It was also possible that he ran off the property,â McLaughlin said. âWe know it was the same guy because of his clothes, so Iâm glad he was arrested because those thieves are destroying the place. Two troopers with the West Virginia State Police arrested Senkbeil after they scaled to the roof of the former steel mill. (Image provided by James Mull from Mull Industries) âEven after it was operated by Wheeling-Pitt, other companies worked in there and they used the cranes and a lot of the machinery that was left in there when it closed,â he said. âBut those things donât work anymore because of all of the copper thatâs been taken out of the place. Theyâve dug every little piece of copper theyâve been able to find in those buildings. âTheyâve cut wires off the ceilings, out of the fuse boxes ⌠everywhere they could find copper, they cut it up ad theyâve taken it.â But why? âMoney.â From whom? Marshall County Sheriff Mike Dougherty circulated this image after Senkbeil had been lodged at the Northern Regional Jail in Moundsville. âThatâs a good question because all of the companies around here tell us that they donât buy it. So, it has to be someone outside of the area, and the word is that they take it to the Pittsburgh area,â McLaughlin said. âSo, they are probably taking it up there or they are selling it to someone local who then buys it and takes it to Pittsburgh. âCopper is pretty valuable right now.â So, what about the future? âItâs a game of hide and seek sometimes,â the Marshall County commissioner insisted. âThis time, though, it was great police work by members of a lot of different agencies working together. âAnd when I tell you there are a lot of cameras in the building, I mean there are a lot of cameras, and weâll continue taking these thieves to jail where they belong.â Read the full article
