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Sep 10, 2023

Rise in copper theft has officials concerned

San Joaquin County supervisor Steve Ding speaks Thursday at the Lodi Grape

San Joaquin County supervisor Steve Ding speaks Thursday at the Lodi Grape Festival Grounds, flanked by, from left to right, Stockton Police Department Assistant Chief Joshua Doberneck, Stockton Mayor Kevin Lincoln, Lodi Mayor Mikey Hothi, AT&T's Brandon Baranco, San Joaquin County District Attorney Ron Freitas and San Joaquin County Sheriff Pat Withrow, to announce a copper theft reward.

If you have witnessed copper wire theft recently or know someone who has stolen the material, San Joaquin County and AT&T want to know about it.

The two entities came together at the Lodi Grape Festival Grounds Thursday to announce that they will offer rewards of as much as $5,000 for information leading to the arrests of copper wire thieves.

San Joaquin County Supervisor Steve Ding, who represents Lodi, Woodbridge, Lockeford, Clements and Acampo on the board, said 48 copper wire lines had been cut in his district over the last four days.

"And then those lines are being burnt down, and taken to recycling areas and processed," he said. "The money is going back out for drug purchases, etc. It's severely impacted us, from emergency services, to 911 call, to Kaiser Hospital, and it's something we’ve got to do something about. We’re not going to sit by and wait for the state to change their laws, so we’ve got to do something about it ourselves."

Ding said the county will soon begin working on an ordinance that would allow law enforcement to seize vehicles used during the commission of copper thefts.

He added that the county will also hold recycling centers that accept stolen copper wire accountable.

Brandon Baranco, a representative of AT&T, said anyone with information should report suspected copper wire theft to their local law enforcement agencies, and said the $5,000 reward is valid through May 1.

"This vandalism has caused damage to our communications infrastructure, which has affected our public safety apparatus, and our community, taking our wire and fiber communications," he said. "AT&T is working, and will continue to work with law enforcement to curb this illegal activity."

San Joaquin County Sheriff Pat Withrow said there has been a 139% increase of wire theft in the past four months across the county.

"It's very frustrating, we’re working very hard to combat this," he said. "It's very difficult to combat if recycling centers are not being held accountable and accepting this wire when they know it's been stolen."

Withrow said his office will partner with AT&T and the cities to install cameras throughout the city where the copper thefts are occurring.

"Here in Lodi, we see this type of theft on our East Side, in our older communities, in our newer housing developments, in the industrial area, commercial and everywhere in between," he said. "Something needs to be ultimately done at the state level, but with Supervisor Ding's leadership, we’re working to address the issue."

Nearly a decade ago, thieves targeted bulbed street lights in Lodi's Heritage District for copper wire, prying open the fuse boxes at the base of the poles.

Lodi Police Chief Sierra Brucia said the city was able to combat the thefts by installing new boxes that were impenetrable, but the thieves have now moved on to construction sites and businesses left open after hours.

Brucia added it's hard to determine exactly how much copper, either in poundage or footage, has been taken over the last few months.

"A lot of it goes unreported," he said. "Addressing the recyclers who are taking in things that they know are stolen is the biggest component we can have the most effect on. Public safety in any community requires partnership. It requires the community to be victims, it requires them to be witnesses, it requires them to provide us the information so we can go out and investigate and hopefully make an arrest, and that's when the district attorney can prosecute."

To report suspected copper theft, call ATT7T's hotline at 800-807-4205, the Lodi Police Department at 209-333-6738, or the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office at 209-468-4384.

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