North Charleston Police officers arrested a Ladson man on Wednesday in connection with the theft of approximately $35,000 worth of copper from the construction site of the new Roper Hospital on Mall Drive.

An officer responded to the site on Tuesday after receiving a report of a burglary. The construction foreman stated that copper had been stolen from the rear left side of the building.

Following an investigation, officers identified 64-year-old Lenard Brightman of Ladson as a suspect. He was subsequently charged with second-degree burglary and theft of non-ferrous metals. Most of the stolen copper was successfully recovered by our Property Crime Unit detectives.

Brightman was taken into custody and transported to the Al Cannon Detention Center. The investigation is ongoing.