A City of Port Arthur employee was found guilty on Thursday of theft by a public servant for stealing metal from the city. Joseph Soliz, who was Port Arthur's water utilities distribution maintenance supervisor, was sentenced to five years probation, according to his defense attorney, James Makin. Soliz, 57, was indicted in March 2016 on six third degree felony counts of theft of metal by a public servant for stealing copper from the city between 2013 and 2015. The Jefferson County District Attorney's Office said in 2016 that Soliz sold about 8 tons of city-owned metal to a Beaumont scrap yard and pocketed the money. Soliz was placed on unpaid leave by the city after his arrest.