ST. LOUIS – A Florissant, Missouri, man appeared in court Tuesday afternoon a day after his arrest for stealing copper wiring at an Ameren substation in Midtown St. Louis.

According to the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department’s probable cause statement, the theft occurred overnight Monday at the Midtown Power Substation, located in the 500 block of South Spring Avenue.

Officers were dispatched to the substation just after 3:50 a.m. after receiving reports of three men cutting wiring and loading it onto the back of a pickup truck.

When police arrived at the substation, they saw a black pickup parked and several cable cords, steel panels, and copper wiring in the bed of the truck. Officers found one of the men, identified Buck M. Wheelehan, 35, curled up in a ball on the passenger floor.

An Ameren Missouri representative estimated the damage caused by Wheelehan and his cohorts at $80,000.

The St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office charged Wheelehan with stealing – $750 or more and first-degree property damage. Wheelehan was jailed without bond.