A former city fo Artesia employee is in hot water for alleged theft of thousands of dollars in brass that was meant for various city projects. A warrant has been issued for the arrest of Blake Ledbetter, who had been hired as a water technician. He had only been on the job for a couple weeks when city officials say he began stealing brass couplings from the city. About 345 pounds of brass in all, over the course of ten days beginning in late July. Ledbetter resigned his job two days after the city launched a police investigation. It’s not known if he has been arrested.