NEWS9 has reported a lot about copper theft in the past few years, from people stealing it, to people getting killed while trying, but now the Mountain State is trying to put an end to it.

A new law goes into effect this month targeting scrap dealers and trying to make it tougher for thieves to sell stolen copper. The sheriff let NEWS9’s cameras go along as he warned dealers about the new way of doing business

What's happening right now is the thieves are stealing the copper from homes, businesses, and even utility poles and selling it for a huge profit, so the state legislature stepped in. They are thinking that if copper thieves have no place to sell their copper, they won't risk their lives to steal it, but for some people, it’s to die for.

"It blew the bolt cutters and fused them to his body, and he was just found killed where he was," said Sheriff John Gruzinskas of Marshall County, W.Va.

Gruzinskas knows how dangerous it can be.

In September, suspects in a copper theft sparked an all-out man hunt. Eventually, the suspects were taken down at gunpoint. Also, thieves were knocking out phone lines, power lines, and even natural gas lines. But why are people risking it all for the shiny metal?

"The recycled price of copper has just gone through the roof. Before it was just a few cents per pound, now it is up to, in some place, $4 a pound," said Gruzinskas.

Now, Gruzinskas is visiting scrap dealers all over Marshall County, and delivering a warning.

On Nov. 22, the laws are changing. For scrap dealers, it will be tougher for them to buy stolen copper from thieves.

The new law will require them to get a number of things from the seller, like their name, home address, description of their vehicle, description of the metal, proof of ownership, and a photocopy of their drivers license.

Right now, it's easy to sell copper scrap, because depending on the weight, dealers only need to get one thing.

"They just write the person's name down and that's it," said Gruzinskas.

That's why he's going visiting scrap yards, making sure the dealers know about the new rules.

"This one, $10,000 worth of copper there," said Frank Galabrese, a local scrap yard owner.

Galabrese owns a scrap yard near McMechen, and said thieves will try to sell anything.

"I had a guy come in here a couple weeks ago with grave markers of the veterans of foreign wars," said Galabrese.

Copper comes in a lot of sizes, from these small wires, to large chunks, which can make it difficult to know whether it's stolen or not.

"If you're knowingly buying stole goods, you're a criminal. The difficulty is, with scrap items, how do you know what is scrap and what isn't?" said Galabrese.

But Galabrese doesn't think the new law is the answer. He said in the long run it will the hurt honest sellers, and said the bill would allow people other than law enforcement to look through his scrap. But he does agree that something needs to be done.

"Sure it's a legitimate safety issue for the general public, but this is not the answer," he said.

But whether or not this new law is the answer, the sheriff said they need to work with the dealers in the hopes of preventing more thefts, and even deaths.

"We have to enlist their aid, we have to get them on board with helping us, and if the only way we can do this is to force them to do it, that's what we're going to do," said Gruzinskas.

There are some problems with the law. It only affects dealers in West Virginia. Nothing will stop a copper thief from just taking the metal across the river and selling it in Ohio. Joe Delong, the congressman who sponsored the bill, said he wouldn't be surprised if a similar bill was introduced there as well.

-John Paul, NEWS9