Prestion Jones, 27, and Ryan Smith, 44, both of Cedar Hill, have been charged with receiving stolen property, a class D felony punishable by up to seven years in prison, after cut AT&T wires were found in the trunk of a vehicle they were traveling in, according to court documents.
As of today, March 13, Jones was being held without bond and Smith was being held on a $75,000 cash-only bond in the Jefferson County Jail in Hillsboro, court records said.
According to the case’s probable-cause statement, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office deputies at about 11:35 p.m. March 10 stopped a vehicle on Hwy. 141 near Astra Way due to a traffic violation. As the deputies approached, they saw the trunk was ajar and discovered approximately 38 wires that were between 3 and 5 inches long and appeared to be AT&T telecommunication wires, the report said.
An AT&T employee was called to the traffic stop, and the employee verified the wires belonged to the company. Deputies arrested Jones, Smith and another person who were in the vehicle, according to the report.
All three were taken to the Jefferson County Jail, and the other person in the car allegedly told detectives that Smith had cut the wires from a spindle attached to an AT&T truck. The person said Jones helped Smith load the cut wires into the trunk, the report said.
In a Facebook post announcing the charges, the Sheriff’s Office said, “This kind of theft is plaguing Jefferson County right now, causing communications issues of all sorts. Some instances have proven to be dangerous. Our office is cracking down on wire thefts, and prosecutors and judges are working to make sure the thieves spend time in jail.”
Jefferson County assistant prosecuting attorney Neilson Lea is prosecuting the case.