SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Three men and a woman are facing criminal charges after San Antonio police say they caught them in the act, stealing copper wire from a piece of property near downtown early Friday morning.
Officers found the group in the parking lot of a site near West Jones Avenue and North St. Mary’s Street that they say used to be occupied by CPS Energy.
Someone in a nearby building spotted the unusual activity and called police around 3 a.m.
“This is the first call that I’ve ever seen like this. This is not something that is easy for someone to do,” said Officer Sarah Mendez, who responded to the call.
Mendez said the suspects somehow were able to pull a truckload of copper wire from an area underground and then loaded it into a pickup.
According to a supervisor on the scene, the copper was valued at about $20,000.
“We’re not sure how they got it or what tools they may have used,” Mendez said. “It’s kind of odd that these suspects were able to know where this wire is.”
A later report from SAPD stated that the group may have accessed the underground wire through a manhole.
Officers said they believed some of the suspects gained access to the property, itself, through a hole in a chain link fence.
At least one, they believe, drove the pickup in through an area on the other side of the property where there was no fence.
Police said they arrested three of the suspects right away. Officers had to chase after the fourth one before taking him into custody.
Those arrested include a woman, 25, and three men, ages 33, 41, and 52. All are charged with theft of copper.