FROM STAFF REPORTS

Shelby County sheriff’s deputies arrested 57-year-old Alexandria resident Jack Anthony Husted on May 14 after officers said he committed “several violations of secondary metals recycling law.”

Deputies arrested Husted and charged him with one count of illegally selling metal property to a second metal recycler. The charge came after the Shelby County Drug Enforcement Task Force served a search warrant at J-Tec Recycling at 4795 Shelby County 11 in Pelham, during which task force members recovered business and transaction records and other documents regarding the purchase of recyclable materials.

Over the course of the past nine months, the Drug Enforcement Task Force received numerous complaints from various Shelby County law enforcement agencies regarding the illegal business practices of secondary metal recyclers, according to a sheriff’s office press release.

“There is a well-known relationship between drug abusers and the theft and sale of metals to recyclers to support their drug activities,” read the press release. “The investigation provided significant evidence of a repeated pattern of improper business practices.”

According to Alabama law, metal recycling companies must accurately record the names and addresses of those selling metals, the date and sale and the type and amount of metal sold.

“We investigated several recycling facilities throughout Shelby County to ensure they were maintaining legible records of transactions,” said Drug Enforcement Task Force Cmdr. Kevin Turner. “The search of this business is a response by the Task Force to ensure metal recyclers comply with the law.”

Husted has been released from the Shelby County Jail on a $10,000 bond.