MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. — Four Milledgeville men have been arrested by agents with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) in connection to a “large-scale” operation involving copper thefts from buildings on the campus of Central State Hospital in Milledgeville.

Joe Wooten, special agent in-charge of the GBI Region 6 Office in Milledgeville, identified the four suspects in a press release Friday morning. They include Waner Alan Hardie, 49; David Anthony Phillips, 54; David Matthew Phillips, 23; and Michael Anthony Phillips, 25, all of Milledgeville addresses.

Each one of the suspects has been charged with burglary.

After their arrest, they were taken to the Baldwin County Law Enforcement Center where they remained Friday.

Additional charges could be forthcoming as the investigation remains active and ongoing, Wooten said in the press release.

The GBI began what was described as a “large-scale” copper theft probe at the request of the Milledgeville Police Department on Friday, April 12, on the campus of Central State Hospital. 

“The investigation initially focused on the Holly Building, but upon further investigation, it was determined that both the Ingram Building and the Laundry Building had been stripped of their copper wiring as well,” according to the press release.

Through the course of the investigation, GBI Special Agent Michael Maybin later discovered what was described as a large stash of copper wiring hidden in a wooded area inside a perimeter fence of the buildings. Maybin also discovered a well-traveled path where he found a hole had been cut into the perimeter fence, which provided access onto the CHS grounds and to the buildings.

Authorities said the path provided the means to remove the copper wiring from the area.

“It was determined that certain tools were utilized to extract and remove the heavy gauge copper wiring from the buildings,” according to the press release.

Authorities believe the burglaries of the buildings and subsequent thefts of the copper wiring have been ongoing for some time.

“Through a collaborative effort of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Milledgeville Police Department, and the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office, search warrants, as well as arrest warrants, were served at a Linda Drive residence and a Belfair Drive residence where evidence was recovered at both locations,” according to the press release.

Such evidence led authorities to the arrests of the four men currently in custody.