CANYON CITY A Grant Court jury found a pair of scrap metal buyers guilty of theft in their dealings with an elderly couple.

Anthony Montwheeler and Annita Montwheeler, also known as Annita Harmon, are scheduled to be sentenced Thursday, Sept. 6, in Grant County Circuit Court.

The Montwheelers were found guilty of one count each of first-degree aggravated theft, a felony, in a two-day trial last week.

District Attorney Ryan Joslin said the Montwheelers operated a business that collected metal from people, usually on only a verbal agreement, and hauled it off to sell to dealers. The Montwheelers would agree to pay or split the proceeds from selling the material.

The indictment charged that they stole metals and/or money, valued at more than $10,000, from Robert and Violet Heiple, who lived in the rural area east of John Day.

Joslin said the Montwheelers hauled some 250 tons of metal from the Heiple property. In exchange, they were to pay the Heiples $100 a ton for ferrous or iron-content materials and split 50/50 the proceeds from selling the more valuable nonferrous items, things made of copper, brass and other metals.

Joslin said the case developed after the Heiples son, Ed, became suspicious that the Montwheelers werent paying for all the loads and he couldnt get them to respond to his calls.

At trial, the state said the Montwheelers got about $50,000 for the metals, but paid $12,500 to the Heiples shorting them some $13,600.

The age of their victims is expected to figure in the sentencing, as the law provides stiffer penalties for such crimes where the victim is older than 65.

Robert Heiple died earlier this year at the age of 96; his wife is 91.

Joslin said the presumptive sentence in this case is a minimum of 16 months in prison.

He also said there may be five additional victims of the scrap metal operation, and he urged anyone with concerns about their dealings with the business to contact Grant County Sheriff Dep. James Burgett, 541-575-1131.