A man on a mini-bike zipped onto an oilfield lease near Gardendale Tuesday and began stripping copper wire until a worker stopped him, according to the Ector County Sheriff’s Office.

The worker, on a Fasken Oil and Ranch lease, called deputies who chased 30-year-old Colby Shawn Figert with lights flashing before arresting him near Cottonwood Road and Western Avenue, according to a release from the sheriff’s office. The deputy reported finding Figert in possession of methamphetamine.

Figert, of 112 Monticello Drive in Odessa, remained at the Ector County Detention Center on Wednesday facing felony charges of evading in a vehicle (the mini-bike) and possession of a controlled substance. His bond was set at a total $15,000.

As of Wednesday, Figert faced no charges relating to oilfield theft. But deputies continued to investigate.

Fasken’s Operations Manager Jimmy Davis said oilfield thefts on leases close to the more populated areas such as Gardendale are an ongoing problem.

Copper thefts are common, Davis said. But the company also sees diesel thefts and trespassers who destroy locks off the trailers where rig workers keep their belongings, so-called “dog houses,” to steal clothing and other items

“We’ve had several of our well servicing rigs . . . broken into at night and on weekends and haven’t been able to catch the people that are doing it,” Davis said. “It’s not horrible, but it seems like every two or three months we’ll have a theft on one of the rigs.”

That is why the company began installing electronic gates, Davis said. But the area Figert is accused of entering on Tuesday did not have one because of an active operation that required a steadier flow of traffic on the lease.

Davis said he believed a rancher lessee on the Fasken land was the one who spotted Figert. A security employee sent Davis a summary of the incident in which he reported Figert was unable to outrun the “long arm of the law” on the mini bike.

“We hope he’s the guy who’s been doing a lot of this, which would kind of end some of it,” Davis said. “But who knows. It’s hard to say at this point.”