A 24-year-old Estelline man has admitted that he stole thousands of dollars worth of aluminum from a Brookings manufacturer earlier this year and sold the metal at a recycling business for cash.

Ryan Ruesink, of 46587 S.D. Highway 28, pleaded guilty in Brookings County Circuit Court on Tuesday to one count of grand theft.

A second count was dropped in exchange for the guilty plea.

Brookings County State's Attorney Clyde Calhoon said Ruesink stole aluminum bars from his employer, MTR Technologies, in 2007 and 2008.

Ruesink was apparently responsible for ordering aluminum for the company. After he did so, Calhoon said the defendant took a significant amount of the metal and sold it for cash at Kranzburg Recycling.

The prosecutor said he did so without authorization and with the intent of depriving the owner. Court documents say the recycling center paid Ruesink on at least two separate occasions this year for aluminum bars, on April 1 and 10, with the payments totaling nearly $10,900.

Circuit Judge Vincent Foley accepted the defendant's guilty plea this week and ordered a pre-sentence investigation.

Sentencing has been scheduled for Aug. 12.

Grand theft is a Class 4 felony with a maximum penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.

Contact Jill Fier at jfier@brookingsregister.com.