A Del Cerro man who stole copper wiring from schools in Ocean Beach, the Midway area and other campuses received six years in state prison Dec. 29 and was ordered to pay nearly $90,000 in restitution to three school districts. Jason Warren Tait, 32, was silent before San Diego Superior Court Judge David Danielsen sentenced him, but Tait has admitted to stealing copper wiring from 16 different schools, including three cases he was not charged with, according to his probation report. Danielsen denied a request for probation, but recommended Tait be admitted to the California Rehabilitation Center (CRC) in Norco in Riverside County for a drug treatment program. It is a state prison but has the world’s largest substance abuse program for people in custody, including vocational programs. Tait told officials he made $3,500 a month from the stolen copper wiring that he sold to a metal recycling center. Much of the profit went to buy methamphetamine, which Tait admitted to using daily. His attorney, James Pasto, recommended the CRC commitment. Deputy District Attorney Stephanie Chow said Tait’s sentence was “a fairly common sentence for drug addicts.” The sentence includes a provision that if CRC determines he is not a drug addict, he can return to court to be sentenced again. The probation report notes that Tait took 975 feet of copper wiring on May 18 from Silver Gate Elementary School in Ocean Beach. The school’s cost for repairs and replacing the cable was more than $7,100. Tait also took 2,000 feet of copper wiring from Correia Middle School on March 17. Repairs and cable replacement were listed at more than $27,300, the report said. Danielsen ordered Tait to repay the San Diego Unified School District nearly $61,000. He also ordered Tait to repay more than $23,000 to the La Mesa School District and $5,500 to the Cajon Valley Union School District. Danielsen fined Tait $1,360 and gave him credit for 235 days served in jail. Tait told officials he used the Internet to locate the addresses for elementary and middle schools but did not target high schools because he thought there were security cameras in use. Tait also said he used the Google Earth program to study the physical layout of the schools he wished to steal copper from. Tait would usually cut through chains and padlocks on security fencing at night, climbing on the roofs to steal the wiring. Most of the schools lost electrical power after he cut the wiring. He said he was never questioned by anyone at metal recycling companies over how he obtained so much wiring. He said he always worked alone in the thievery cases, although he did work once with his brother, Aaron Charles Tait, 31. Both men were arrested by La Mesa police July 22 after they entered La Mesa Middle School grounds. Officers found the brothers had removed 250 feet of wiring from an electrical panel. Aaron Tait pleaded guilty to grand theft and is serving a 16-month prison term. Jason Tait pleaded guilty Nov. 25 to eight counts of grand theft and eight other charges were dropped. He pleaded guilty with a procedural waiver that allowed the judge to order restitution that included the dismissed charges. Effective Jan. 1, state law now requires scrap-metal recyclers to take the thumbprint of anyone attempting to sell copper wiring. Potential sellers must also now present a picture identification and a valid address before receiving payment for the copper wiring. The measure was signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in October.