Plumber, wife charged in McDonald's bathroom thefts

A plumber and his wife have been charged in the theft of toilet flush valves from area McDonald's restaurants.

Patrick Ring, 45, and Dianna Rodriguez, 41, were arrested on Feb. 6 after police nabbed them while they were allegedly stealing metal, jail records show. The couple was arrested hours after the San Antonio Police Department released an description of their Chevrolet Lumina and surveillance images of the couple inside a McDonald's restaurant.

In a videotaped confession, they later said that they entered a McDonald's restaurant at the 3400 block of East Southcross on Dec.11 to steal flush valves from the bathrooms, according to their arrest warrant affidavits. They said they had done the same at five other McDonald's locations.

The stolen flush valves were sold to a recycling company located on Culebra Road, the affidavit said. The metal made to complete the valve is brass, which is considered a precious metal.

They told officers they stole flush valves from five other restaurants around the city, though they have only been charged in connection with two thefts.

They remain behind bars charged with two state jail felony counts of theft of aluminum/bronze/copper and other unrelated charges.

aley@express-news.net

Twitter: @aley_EN

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Plumber, wife charged in McDonald's bathroom thefts