Second man arrested for stealing copper gutters from church

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Joseph Haze Rawls, 48, was arrested yesterday and charged with stealing copper gutters from the First United Methodist Church of Gainesville and selling them to a metal recycling business. Roddez Leon Coar was arrested on March 9 in the same case.

The theft was reported on March 5 by a representative of the recycling company, who told a Gainesville Police Department Officer that someone from the church had called and told the company to watch for copper gutters. The representative said the gutters are extremely rare because copper hasn’t been used for gutters for decades.

The church is in the process of replacing its roof, and the copper gutters had been stacked in a fenced area while waiting for the roofing company to pick them up and sell them, with proceeds going to the church. The church first noticed that some of the gutters were missing on February 22.

An employee of the recycling company told the officer that he was very familiar with Coar, who had brought in copper gutters on four occasions and was a “regular” at the business before that. The most recent sale was reportedly on March 2, when the recycling business paid $157.14 for some of the gutters.

Since a representative of the church had said that a “big pile” of the gutters had disappeared the previous night, the recycling business notified the officer when Coar and Rawls arrived around noon on March 5 with 493 pounds of copper gutters. The business paid Coar and Rawls $1,434.63 for the materials.

Multiple witnesses at the church reported seeing two black males climbing into the fenced area; one of the men reportedly said, “Just so you know – we’re not stealing it.” By the time the witnesses had contacted the church leadership, the two men had loaded up the truck and left. The witnesses provided descriptions of the men and Coar’s truck, which was also recognized by the employee of the recycling business.

Rawls has been charged with grand theft, dealing in stolen property, and providing false information while selling regulated metals. Rawls has 10 felony convictions (four violent) and 10 misdemeanor convictions (two violent). He has served three state prison sentences, all from crimes committed in Alachua County, with his most recent release in September 2023. Judge Thomas Jaworski set bail at $30,000.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.