AT&T’s copper cable wire has become a hot commodity in Jefferson County.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office reported three thefts and other attempted thefts of wire since June 20 in the Festus and Cedar Hill areas. The thefts often interrupt phone and internet service, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office reported.
Deputies arrested a 40-year-old Pevely man and a 53-year-old De Soto woman in connection with one of the Festus-area thefts, but investigators do not believe those two were responsible for all the recent thefts of wire in the area, Sheriff’s Office spokesman Grant Bissell said.
Authorities believe the recent increase in the price of copper has led to the increase in copper wire thefts. Prices surged this year, hitting a high in May, and Goldman Sachs predict the price of copper will to continue to rise and call the metal “the new oil.” In Missouri, copper is selling at $4.44 per pound, according to priceofscrapmetals.com.
“It is the same thing with the catalytic converters. When the value of the metals start going up, we see more thefts,” Bissell said. “It is the same thing with copper, we believe.
Deputies arrested the Pevely man and De Soto woman on July 10 in the 2600 block of Meyer Road, southwest of Festus. The man allegedly stole about 100 feet of BKMA 900 cable valued at $1,200 that was on the ground while a crew was replacing wire that had been damaged during an attempted theft on June 20 in the area, the report said.
The woman picked up the man in a 2006 Dodge Caravan after he allegedly stole the wire. Then, the two were stopped on Hwy. 67 near Hwy. CC, and the wire allegedly was found in the van.
AT&T estimated it would cost about $2,000 to replace the damaged cable, according to the report.
The wire was returned to the AT&T employees, and the couple was booked and released pending application for warrants. The Sheriff’s Office will seek stealing charges against them through the Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, Bissell said.
The Sheriff’s Office also is investigating a copper wire theft that occurred on July 9. At about 1:30 a.m., AT&T received reports of power outages in the area near highways B and 30 in Cedar Hill, where someone had climbed a pole and cut down about 200 feet of AT&T wire. The wire was valued at about $2,300, the report said.
The latest copper wire theft occurred July 23. AT&T told investigators it received phone calls at about 1:20 p.m. about service being interrupted, after about 350 feet of copper wire had been pulled off utility poles and stolen in the area near Hwy. 67 and Buck Creek Road southwest of Festus. The wire stolen was valued at about $3,800, according to the report.
As of July 28, wire from two of the reported thefts had not been recovered, and no suspects had been identified, except for the two arrested in connection with the July 10 incident, Bissell said. Anyone with information about any of the incidents should call the Sheriff’s Office at 636-797-5515.