Man suspected of stealing copper piping arrested after chase

Officers chased and arrested a man suspected of stealing copper piping from a vacant building, according to the Costa Mesa Police Department.

Police responded around 2:30 p.m. Friday to a building at 765 W. 16th St. to investigate why a man was in the rafters, authorities said.

Officers saw a man leave the back of the building and run, ignoring commands to stop, police said.

The man ran along the top of a wall and jumped off trash bins in an attempt to avoid police, but officers grabbed him as he was entering a trailer park on Placentia Avenue, authorities said.

Police said they found a cart holding cut-up copper piping that officers believe the man had taken from the building.

Authorities identified the suspect as Joseph Woods, 46, of Costa Mesa. He was arrested on suspicion of burglary and resisting arrest and booked into Orange County Jail with bail set at $20,000, police said.

— Jeremiah Dobruck

Twitter: @jeremiahdobruck