Area copper thieves have been busy

September 26, 2012

Since early July, the Spokane County Sheriff's Office has taken 44 copper wire theft reports in unincorporated Spokane County as well as Spokane Valley. The thefts have affected a wide variety of contractors, utility companies and cell phone companies.
The monetary loss from these thefts has not only cost these companies thousands of dollars, but has also affected customers from loss of services.
The most recent thefts occurred between Sept. 18-25. Avista Utilities reported copper wire thefts in the area of north 25400 Crescent Road and Halliday, Mount Spokane, Finley and Laurel roads in north Spokane County. The thefts totaled nearly $10,000 alone.
Avista Utilities stresses that not only are these thefts extremely dangerous, the essential repairs take resources away from serving its customers. The required repairs also present a danger to the utility crews replacing the hardware.
Anyone witnessing any suspicious activity near any type of utility or cell phone towers is urged to call Crime Check at 456-2233.