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Ex-employee charged with stealing metal

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JASPER -- A former Jasper County maintenance employee has been charged with stealing salvage metal from a county storage shed, according to the Ridgeland Police Department.

Tete Bartoldus, 58, has been charged with petty larceny because the total cost of the metal was less than $1,000, according to Capt. Frank Mador of the Ridgeland Police Department.

County officials were reluctant to talk about the alleged crime Thursday and met behind closed doors to discuss whether to press charges.

Notice announcing a special meeting of the Jasper County Council went out early Thursday, and the council met at 2 p.m. behind closed doors to discuss the details of the "investigational proceedings regarding allegations of criminal misconduct," according to the council's agenda.

In open session, the council voted unanimously to move ahead with the charges.

"We don't plan to sit on this," county attorney Marvin Jones said immediately after the meeting.

It's unclear why the council was required to meet in order to move ahead with the charges. It's also unclear how long Bartoldus had worked for the county or when his tenure ended.

The charges were filed with the Ridgeland Police Department because the shed is in Ridgeland's jurisdiction, according to authorities.

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