A preliminary court hearing will be at 1:30 p.m. tomorrow for James Bronson Taylor Jr., charged with theft and criminal property damage as part of an investigation into freeway copper thefts.

The hearing was scheduled yesterday during an initial court appearance for Taylor, who is accused of leading a group responsible for more than $100,000 in copper thefts from Leeward O'ahu freeways over the past six months.

Taylor is charged with copper theft and criminal property damage. Each offense is punishable by up to five years in prison. He is being held in lieu of $25,000 bail.

Yesterday, the 43-year-old was taken out of the courthouse in shackles by sheriff's deputies after his 10 a.m. appearance.

His arrest came early Sunday after five sheriff's deputies acted on a tip from the state Department of Transportation.

They watched Taylor walk along a west-bound stretch of H-1 Freeway at the Makakilo off-ramp at 5 a.m. Sunday. An electrical box had been left open with a soft-drink bottle covering a live wire that had been cut. They arrested Taylor, who has 15 prior criminal convictions, after watching him pull wires out of the electrical box.

Over the past 18 months, miles of H-1 Freeway and H-2 Freeway near Ka Uka Boulevard have been left dark because of copper wire theft.

More than $164,300 worth of copper wire has been stolen from light fixtures along freeways this year. The estimated cost of repair is topping $2 million.