Police in Pasadena, California arrested two men on the night of Saturday, Dec. 22 as they were caught trying to steal hundreds of feet of copper wiring from a cell phone tower. As reported by Brian Day of the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Pasadena police officers assisted by the California Highway Patrol responded to a report that someone was stealing wire from a cell tower located on the property of a cement company.
More News: Cell tower copper thieves targeted 911 video cameras
One suspect was detained near the tower, while the second suspect fled into the brush along California's 210 Freeway. A police helicopter and California Highway Patrol officers searched the area and found the second suspect hiding in some bushes.
After reportedly cutting locks with bolt cutters, “[The thieves] were pulling out hundreds of feet of cable out of the boxes,” Pasadena police Lt. Jason Clawson said. “It appears that three different companies had copper wires pulled from the vault at that location,” he added. Police said the failed theft caused more than $50,000 worth of damage to the cell tower. The suspects were booked on suspicion of grand theft of copper wire following the incident.
As humorously noted by the city-centric Los Angeles blog LAist: "This probably never would have happened if they had disguised the cell phone tower as a tree. Just a thought."
Full Stories:
Police: Men busted trying to steal copper wiring from Pasadena cell tower (dailybulletin.com)
Two Dudes Busted Stealing Copper Wire from Cell Phone Tower (laist.com)