December 20, 2018
Just after midnight in September, a pickup truck struck and killed a 55-year-old woman crossing an intersection in a motorized wheelchair on a dark stretch of Kansas City, Missouri, highway. The streetlights had gone out there — after thieves stole …
November 21, 2017
A steep drop in metal thefts since 2014 is likely due to new laws designed to record sales, according to a new report by the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB). In 2014, a total of 12,630 metal theft claims were …
June 27, 2017
For years, residents in this cash-strapped Oklahoma city watched helplessly as thieves gutted 33 miles (53 kilometers) of streetlight wiring, plunging long stretches of roadway into darkness. The thousands of dollars criminals pocketed at off-the-books salvage yards wreaked millions of …
November 17, 2016
In a dramatic drop-off that extends a multi-year trend, insured metal theft claims in 2015 were down 23 percent from 2014 levels and 29 percent over the past two years. According to a report today from the National Insurance Crime …
June 4, 2015
Longtime New York City subway cops have seen copper thefts before, but last week’s heist on a stretch of open-air tracks was particularly brazen: 500 feet of inch-thick cable stripped from the rails in the middle of the night. The …
February 19, 2015
A bill filed in the Illinois House would form a new task force to address thefts of recyclable metals, including copper. The Belleville News-Democrat reports the panel would review efforts to combat theft and come up with new ideas. Findings …
November 4, 2014
Transit police say they’ve found a thief who has repeatedly stolen copper cable recently along the Long Island Rail Road right-of-way. One theft delayed trains. Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police Michael Coan says Bernard Jenkins was arrested Friday on charges including …
October 31, 2014
A Minot, N.D., man faces four felony charges after allegedly trying to steal $26,000 worth of copper from a Dickinson business. Authorities allege 34-year-old Philip Poppell broke into Border States Electric over the weekend and tried to take two spools …
October 16, 2014
A San Antonio man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for stealing copper in a ring that investigators say targeted Central Texas communication towers. Ricky Thatcher must also pay more than $163,000 to victims, including the Lower Colorado …
October 2, 2014
Authorities say a three-alarm fire inside Quincy’s old City Hall may have been started by thieves after copper piping. No one was hurt in the blaze reported at about 1 p.m. Tuesday. The 170-year-old building is not being used but …