A 29-year-old man is accused of stealing copper wire on South Whidbey and selling it to a recycler, according to court documents.

Prosecutors charged Dillon J. Tresslar in Island County Superior Court July 11 with trafficking in stolen property in the first degree and theft in the third degree.

Investigators first became aware of the theft after a witness came forward. The woman said she drove Tresslar and another man to a warehouse near Langley June 18. She said she was too scared to refuse them.

The men had her back up her vehicle to a large pile of scrap copper wire and a large spool of copper wire; they loaded it all inside the vehicle, according to the police report. She drove them to Ace’s Metal Recycling Center in Mukilteo and sold the wire for $140, according to the police report.

A deputy later contacted the man who owned the warehouse and he estimated the loss at about $500, the report states.

If convicted of the charges against him, Tresslar could face up to a year in jail under the standard sentencing range.