A man identified as a suspect in more than 30 home break-ins across Kettering and Oakwood, in which thousands of dollars of copper pipes and tubing have been taken, has been charged with a single count of burglary.

Additional charges could result after evidence is presented to a grand jury against Christopher Joseph Knox, 37, according to the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office.

Oakwood police arrested Knox on Feb. 4 and he was held in the Montgomery County Jail on an unrelated warrant until the charge was filed Wednesday. His bond has been set at $50,000.

“This was a complex investigation,” Oakwood Police Chief Alex Bebris said. “In many of these cases, the trail of investigation was cold to begin with because the residences were vacant. The investigators from our department here in Oakwood working with those from Kettering did a good job in putting this all together and organizing a case that will hold this offender accountable.”

Oakwood police arrested the man after several people reported seeing a suspicious vehicle driving slowly through the city, Kettering Police Detective Dave Marcum said.

Even after Knox’s arrest, police are still finding cases, as the targets have generally been empty houses — those for sale or in foreclosure. Often, the damage has not been found until weeks after the break-ins, police said.

Earlier this month, Marcum said that investigators had identified two of Knox’s friends who were selling the copper at local scrapyards. Witnesses told police that these men were selling an unusual amount of copper, leading them to wonder where they were getting it, Marcum said.

The cases go back to mid-January. In Kettering, the break-ins started in the western part of the city, then moved east and into Oakwood, Marcum said.

The thief has generally targeted empty houses with “some aspect of cover,” such as bushes obscuring portions of the property from view, Marcum said. In some cases, the thief has been bold enough to break in through the rear of a home, then dismantle the garage door opener so he can back his vehicle into the garage and load up, he said.

Copper sells for $2.90 a pound, so the thief has been taking a few hundred dollars worth from each break-in, but generally leaves thousands of dollars in damage to the structure, Marcum said.