2 Who Stole Copper After Tornado Get Probation

Two men who admitted stealing copper wire from the streets of Joplin, Mo., after the May 2011 tornado have been placed on probation.

A Jasper County judge on Monday granted five years of probation for 32-year-old Nycoa Kracht, of Laurel, Ind., and 45-year-old Timothy Silveria of Joplin for stealing wire from a public utility.

The two suspects and 34-year-old Dennis B. Ray, of Joplin, were arrested May 25, 2011, with a load of copper wire.

Police say the wire had been cut from nearby Empire District Electric Co. utility poles in an area of the city devastated by the tornado on May 22.

The Joplin Globe reports Ray was sentenced in December to three years in prison.