LAWRENCE — Miguel Castro loaded more than 200 pounds of stolen copper tubing into the back of a taxi van and asked the driver to take him to a local salvage yard where he could peddle it, police said.

But the manager of the salvage yard instead called police, leading to Castro's arrest on theft charges yesterday morning.

"You get suspicious when you see someone in a taxi cab, or pushing an extra load in a shopping cart," said Robert Costello, manager of Winfield Alloy at 15 Medford St.

Plus, it was the sixth time in a week that Castro, 44, of 225 Jackson St., went to Winfield Alloy to peddle scrap copper.

On June 9, Castro showed up at 8:13 a.m. and was paid $150 for 75 pounds and another $30 later in the day for 15 pounds, according to receipts kept by Winfield Alloy and given to police.

The receipts also indicate that Castro was paid $288 on June 10 for 144 pounds and $264 for 132 pounds on June 11.

He returned this past Saturday with 179 pounds for which he was paid $358, police said.

That's $1,090 for 545 pounds.

Police said yesterday's haul weighed 214 pounds for which he could have been paid more than $400, but the fact he showed up in a taxi this time raised too many red flags for Costello.

When Castro arrived at 9:16 a.m., Costello alerted police who were able to view him on a surveillance camera at Winfield Alloy that was hooked up to the police station.

As soon as Castro saw a police cruiser pull up, he made a dash through the back door, with Officer Felix Gonzalez in pursuit. Gonzalez found Castro hiding in the salvage yard, police said.

Wilson Rodriguez, a driver for Popular Taxi in Lawrence, told police that Castro asked for a two-way fare from 799 Essex St. to 15 Medford St., which he said he would pay after cashing in the metal.

According to the police report, Rodriguez told police he saw Castro enter the house with a box and he came out with the copper piping. The three-story house at 799-801 Essex St., is for sale. It is in the lower Tower Hill section of Lawrence, across the street from the Spanish Evangelical Church.

"He (Rodriguez) had no idea who it belonged to and that the copper piping was stolen," according to the police report. "He refused to tell us exactly how much money he was going to receive from Castro for helping him transport the stolen copper."

Police Chief John Romero said Rodriguez also faces possible charges.

Police said Castro admitted he takes copper from vacant buildings, but could not tell police which homes.

"He has lived in the city for 20 years and does not know the name of the streets," Detective Brian Burokas wrote in the report. "He became uncooperative."

He told police he gets rides from cab drivers and other people.

Castro was charged with breaking and entering in the daytime to commit a felony, four counts of larceny over $250 by false pretense, larceny over $250, four counts of receiving stolen property, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and destruction of property over $250.

"This is a recurring problem in Lawrence," Romero said. "They target homes they know are empty. They see that they're vacant so therefore they think it's OK. It's not OK. Even though no one is living there, it still belongs to someone and is not theirs."

Romero said there has been 35 reported copper thefts in the city so far this year, with 75 percent of the metal taken from homes that have been foreclosed on.

In the last 60 days alone, there have been 47 homes seized by banks in Lawrence.

Costello said copper sells for an average of $3 per pound.

"He's getting peanuts for what he's doing, compared to the thousands of dollars it's going to cost to replace the damage he did," Romero said.

Romero commended Costello for alerting police about Castro and for installing a camera system at his business.

Romero said Mayor Michael Sullivan has formed a task force made up of members of Inspectional Services, Community Development, the Fire and Police departments, pinpointing which properties have been foreclosed on.

"The whole motive behind it is money," Romero said. "These are people who were collecting cans before, but the copper is more lucrative."

This is not the first time Castro has been arrested for stealing copper tubing from basements.

In 2005, Castro, then a resident of Columbus Avenue, was nabbed by police on Winthrop Avenue, when he returned to get the copper outside the house.

Back then, Castro confessed to stealing copper at four different homes in South Lawrence to feed his heroin addiction. Castro did not mention drug use when he was questioned by police yesterday.

"We've said all along many of the people involved in burglaries are looking for anything they can trade or sell to support a habit," Romero said.