ST. LOUIS – A St. Louis Circuit Court judge signed an arrest warrant for an Illinois man accused of stealing copper wiring in a south city neighborhood.
According to the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department’s probable cause statement, the theft occurred on May 7 in the 3100 block of Texas Avenue in Benton Park West.
On May 9, AT&T contacted authorities to report 200 feet of 900 pair aerial copper cable had been taken from an active utility pole. The stolen wire has an estimated value of around $3,000.
Because of recent thefts, AT&T installed tracking devices on its wires, police said.
The stolen wire was tracked to the 3100 block of Arlington Avenue, located in the State Park Place municipality, just outside Collinsville, Illinois, police said.
The utility pole had also been equipped with a motion-activated camera, which captured the suspected thief on video, who was later spotted at a nearby gas station. Police identified the individual as Christopher Smith, 51, of State Park Place.
Police said they used “multiple sources of surveillance” to follow the vehicle used in the theft and identify it by the plate numbers. The vehicle belonged to a known acquaintance of Smith.
The St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office charged Smith with stealing – $750 or more and first-degree tampering with service of a utility. Upon arrest, Smith will be jailed without bond.