A man convicted of stealing copper from air conditioners in Stephens County also pleaded guilty Tuesday to breaking U.S. laws that protect the ozone from harmful gasses including the cooling agent, freon.

Daniel Arnot, 26, stood in Gainesville's U.S. District Court and confessed guilt to all 13 counts listed in a federal indictment against him and three co-defendants. He was charged last June with one count of conspiracy and 12 counts of violating public health statutes.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul R. Jones detailed when and how Arnot, who once worked at a plumbing and mechanical shop in Athens, stripped valuable metals from at least 35 outdoor air-conditioning units in Gainesville, Toccoa, Eastanollee and Hartwell between Aug. 1 and Sept. 4, 2008.

Arnot knew gas was escaping when he severed the tubing from the commercial appliances, targeted because of their large sizes, Jones said.

"(A person) would see and hear this gas being vented," Jones told District Judge Richard W. Story, adding, "hundreds of pounds of ozone destroying substances (were) released into the atmosphere."

Arnot's plea in federal court comes more than a year after his admission of guilt in Stephens County for related crimes. Charges against him there included conspiracy, theft by taking and criminal damage to property in the second degree for air-conditioning incidents at Stephens County Board of Education, Pines Golf Course, Southland Casket Co. and other places.

Arnot was sentenced June 4, 2009, to five years in prison and 15 years probation, said Tim Quick, Stephens County clerk of courts.

During Tuesday's hearing, Jones said Arnot also dismantled four commercial units in Gainesville at Dunlap Stainless Inc. as well as three units at Cornerstone Baptist Church in Hartwell.

As far as motive, the prosecutor quoted previous statements by Arnot that he had a "very bad drug habit and he needed the money to support that drug habit."

Arnot told the judge Tuesday he is no longer dependent on drugs or alcohol.

Named along with Arnot in the federal indictment are his wife Sabrina Westbrooks Arnot, Corey Beard, and Justin Joyner.

Beard and Joyner also pleaded guilty in Stephens County in 2009 on charges related to the destruction of air conditioners and wiring theft, Quick said.

Additionally, the men joined Arnot in pleading guilty to the counts naming them in the federal indictment on Dec. 14, according to court documents.

In the June indictment, Beard was accused of selling 477 pounds of copper and aluminum to two recycling centers in exchange for $596.25.

Sentencing for Arnot, who is being held at Hall County Jail, has not been scheduled. He faces a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.