CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Aransas Pass police have been investigating four different cases of fiber and copper line theft and damage in Aransas Pass.
The cases were opened between May 23-31.
It has caused tens of thousands of dollars in damages, which the provider is currently working to repair.
Frontier Communications is the service provider in these cases. Police said they believe the suspect, or suspects, is climbing poles to cut wires in the middle of the night.
They identified a potential car that's involved and said whoever is responsible might steal again.
"It was, like, my phone, I couldn't get internet on my laptop and I do a lot of work on my laptop as well. So, it was really annoying," said La Risa Rios, one of the least seven people in her neighborhood using Frontier.
She uses it for her phone, internet and TV service, but has been without it for about three days. She said some local businesses and others in the community are also affected.
"I know a lot of parents that are really frustrated cause their kids can't get on their tablets, can't watch TV," she said.
Rios and at least one other customer got a text from Frontier informing them of a service outage at their address and that the company is working to fix it.
She said the company did not tell her about the thefts or damages to their lines, instead finding out from APPD. Patrol officer Terry Camack said people cutting wires happens but it is usually months apart—not like these cases.
"Four to happen in two weeks, it seems like, it's more repetitive," he said.
Camack has worked for APPD for 2 years and arrested someone for cutting wires before. He has a few of the recent four cases assigned to him and explained why someone would cut wires and leave some behind.
"The fiber line, they realize, hey, it doesn't have any copper in it. So, they just throw it away," he said.
What they are really after, Camack said, is copper, which can be sold for at least $2.15 a pound. So far, thieves have made off with at least 600 feet of copper, and damaged around 900 feet of fiber line. That is after causing $60,000-$70,000 in damage, which must be repaired by Frontier.
"This copper telephone lines, they'll take it, try to scrap it out the scrap yard," he said.
The suspects or suspects are believed to be driving a GMC Sierra, ranging from 2006-13 model. Camack said it could be the same people involved in all four cases, since they are cutting lines the same way. Meanwhile, Rios said she is happy to see police doing something about it.
"It's really cool that we have people like that looking out for us," she said.
Camack said to call APPD to report anyone doing something to the lines, but do not confront them yourselves. He said getting as good a description as possible will help catch the suspect, or suspects, before it happens again.
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