Man dies trying to steal copper

More than two dozen in past two years died trying to steal precious metal

Associated Press

Article Created: 03/07/2008 02:30:52 AM PST

BONSALL — San Diego County sheriff's deputies said a man was electrocuted while apparently trying to steal copper from a live power line.

San Diego sheriff's homicide Sgt. James Bovet said the man's body was found after 1 a.m. Thursday near a downed line on Highway 76, in the rural northeastern part of San Diego County.

"If you're out there at 2 o'clock in the morning with a ladder I don't know what else you'd be doing out there," Bovet said.

Deputies found a ladder

propped against the pole and cutting tools scattered nearby.

The man's body was found on the ground after utility workers arrived to shut off the 12,000-volt line.

It appeared that the dead man was electrocuted as the live wire fell, said Rachel Laing, a spokeswoman for Sempra, parent company of San Diego Gas & Electric.

The man has not been identified.

Fourteen customers were left without power as a result of the attempted theft, Laing said.

More than two dozen people have died in the past two years in the U.S. trying to steal copper from live wires.

Reported thefts of copper from places like construction sites and cemeteries have spiked over the past two years as the metal's value has skyrocketed. Copper wiring is fetching about $3 a pound at recycling facilities.

Electric companies are not the only utilities to be targeted: At least 25 cell phone towers in New Jersey have been stripped of the copper grounding bars that protect them from damage during lightning strikes, which phone carriers said will cost them $125,000 to repair.

According to the California Highway Patrol, copper thieves targeting freeway lighting are plunging Southern California roadways in the dark.

CHP Officer Jennifer Hink said freeway wire theft is occurring an average of once a week. As a result, those stranded in conked out vehicles at night are facing dangers in Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside counties.

The latest theft was Monday at the Riverside and Orange freeway interchange. Some

2,600 feet of wiring, worth $800, was taken, and lights in the area are out of service.

Copper prices have shot up almost fourfold in the past decade, an increase attributed to rising demand from Asia. The metal is hard to trace and retains its value well when recycled, so thieves are even targeting copper alloys such as brass.