The Sac City Police Department has filed felony charges against a Spirit Lake man following an investigation into the theft of almost 2,000 feet of telephone cable. Forty-seven-year-old Scott Hassel is accused of taking the line, valued at $1,700, from the Frontier Communications property between Dec. 8 and Dec. 11. Authorities received a theft report on Dec. 12 and posted the information on a scrap material theft tracking website, www.ScrapTheftAlert.com. Through this tool, the Sac City Police Department was notified that materials matching the description of the stolen items was received at Shine Bros. Corp. in Spencer. An investigation determined Hassel had taken the wire and sold it at Warren’s Metal Recycling in Schaller who then sold it to the Spencer location. Hassel has been charged with second-degree theft, a class D felony. If found guilty of the charge, he faces up to five years in prison and a maximum fine of $7,500.
