Help needed
Community must help police stop thefts
State police are looking for brazen thieves who are climbing telephone poles and cutting Verizon lines in order to steal the copper.
You may be shaking your head in disbelief, but this is a growing trend. Between late April and earlier this week, there have been 35 such incidents, where thousands of feet of aerial copper telephone wires were cut and stolen from all areas of Fayette County. The bulk of the thefts – 19 – occurred between Oct. 18 and Dec. 12.
The thefts have prompted Verizon to offer as much as $50,000 in reward money for the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the thefts. Additionally, Fayette County Crime Stoppers is offering $1,000 for information leading an arrest in the case.
Trooper Scott Krofcheck said the bulk of the thefts have occurred in the southern, more remote parts of the county, though areas such as Brownfield Lane in South Union Township also have been targeted. Some areas, such as Rowes Run and Hurst Road in Smock or Masontown-Smithfield Road in Masontown, have been targeted multiple times, police said.
Police want people to be on the lookout for suspicious activity. By cutting the wires, the thieves have left about 1,000 Verizon customers without service or interruptions in service. This goes beyond vandalism, as the cut wires may pose potential danger to customers who may be left without service in an emergency.
Police said they have two suspect vehicles that could be involved in the thefts: an older gray Nissan truck with a cap and a white cargo van with bay doors on the back. While authorities don’t want people to put themselves at risk to get license plate numbers for suspicious vehicles, it’s important that residents keep an eye out for suspicious vehicles at odd times of the night.
Since the thieves are removing the outer sheath of the wire and burning it off, the troopers said that people also should be looking out for people who are burning excessively, at odd times or in odd areas, like the woods. That also could be a sign of something amiss.
District Attorney Jack R. Heneks Jr. said police are taking the thefts “very seriously” and have made three arrests, but that the ongoing spate of thefts are making authorities even more determined to find the additional culprits.
Heneks urged people to be watchful because the police “cant be everywhere, all the time.”
We urge people to take this problem seriously. The police can’t be everywhere at once. They need the help of the community. Let’s hope that with the police and the community working together, this very serious problem can be stopped in its tracks.
Anyone with information on the thefts can call state police at 724-439-7111, Crime Stoppers at 1-888-404-TIPS or Verizon at 412-633-4902.