But after stealing more than $10,000 worth of the increasingly precious metal in July from Baltimore Gas and Electric trucks parked in a fenced lot in Piney Orchard, John Russell Millard learned nothing in life is free.

Millard, an admitted crack addict with an extensive criminal history of misdemeanor crimes, pleaded guilty yesterday to two counts of felony theft. He was ordered to serve eight years in prison and pay $10,666 in restitution.

"For now sir … I think it is important for you to see what the Department of Corrections is like," said Circuit Court Judge William C. Mulford II, explaining he might reconsider the sentence in two years if Millard decides he wants to go to drug rehab.

BGE, which lost $600,000 to metal theives last year, and county police, who investigate new metal thefts almost daily, hope the sentence will send a signal to the community that stealing copper and aluminum is a serious crime.

"Mr. Millard's prison sentence could be a deterrent to individuals considering committing thefts," said Lt. Jeffrey Silverman, a county police spokesman.

Officers are not holding their breath, however, and are asking for the community's help.

"Our focus is on continuing to be proactive in locating and identifying individuals committing thefts of precious metals," he said, asking citizens to call police if they see anything out of the ordinary.

Prosecutors credit a BGE employee with tipping police to Millard's identity in late June 2007. And BGE security cameras confirmed Millard repeatedly returned to 730 New Waugh Chapel Road in July - cutting holes in the fence and stealing hundreds of pounds of copper wire.

"He continued to go back again and again," Assistant State's Attorney Kathy Evans said.

Police eventually searched Millard's home on Norwood Drive in Millersville July 24 and found bolt cutters and hammers with several spools of copper wire.

Ms. Evans said Millard confessed to breaking into the lot "daily," stealing copper wire, and selling it at area scrap yards to support his crack habit.

Following the recommendations of prosecutors, Judge Mulford sentenced Millard to 15 years in prison, but suspended all but 8 years.

State sentencing guidelines recommended Millard serve between 8 and 15 years in prison, largely because of his extensive criminal record. His rap sheet stretches back to the late 1980s and includes several convictions for theft and misdemeanor assault.

Assistant Public Defender William Cooke, Millard's attorney, argued for lenience. He asked for an 18 month sentence in order to keep his client out of a state prison and noted that Millard had already served eight months at the Jennifer Road Detention Center. He said that despite his client's criminal history, this was already his longest jail sentence.

Millard apologized to the court - saying the time in jail has changed him for the better - and Howard Millard, Millard's father, said he thought his son had served enough time behind bars.

"I think he has learned his lesson now," he said.

Prosecutors, however, said Millard should have learned his lesson sooner.

Ms. Evans noted that Millard was previously convicted in April 2007 of burglarizing the same lot and stealing copper. Millard also was arrested June 25 for stealing from the lot, but still returned to it upon his release from jail June 30.

Millard told police the metal thefts were "too lucrative" to stop going back, Ms. Evans said.

That, police said, is why they have so much trouble stopping metal thieves. Crooks know it is easy to just steal some copper or aluminum - whether it be from the lighting at a ball field or the siding of a house - and take it to a scrap yard. They know they don't have to give any identification or prove the metal isn't stolen.

Lt. Silverman, however, said that could change. He said County Executive John R. Leopold and the Maryland Chiefs of Police Association are working to get state legislation passed that would require scrap dealers to record a seller's personal information.

"This would be a possible deterrent to thieves because it would make it more difficult to convert the copper wiring into cash, which in most cases is why it is being stolen in the first place," Lt. Silverman said.