{"id":498833,"date":"2026-10-17T04:02:24","date_gmt":"2026-10-17T04:02:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/498833\/"},"modified":"2026-10-17T04:02:24","modified_gmt":"2026-10-17T04:02:24","slug":"2-arrested-3000-feet-of-stolen-copper-wire-recovered-in-downtown-la-sting-pasadena-star-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/498833\/","title":{"rendered":"2 arrested, 3,000 feet of stolen copper wire recovered in downtown LA sting \u2013 Pasadena Star News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two people were arrested and about 4 tons of copper wire, equivalent to roughly 3,000 feet of stolen telecommunications wire with an estimated value of $102,000, were recovered during an operation in downtown Los Angeles, state Attorney General Rob Bonta<\/a> announced Frday.<\/p>\n

The operation was conducted by the California Department of Justice, Los Angeles County Sheriff\u2019s Department<\/a> and Los Angeles Police Department<\/a> as part of a statewide effort to combat copper wire theft and infrastructure vandalism, according to the Attorney General\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n

The identities of the two people arrested and the charges they may face were not immediately available. Authorities said the arrests were made on Thursday but did not specify a location.<\/p>\n

\u201cCopper theft has a steep price, and we are ensuring that the criminals behind it are the ones who pay it, not our communities,\u201d Bonta said. \u201cWe will not tolerate bad actors who steal resources that plunge California neighborhoods into darkness or cut off vital emergency services. We are working with law enforcement, business leaders, and elected officials to stop this epidemic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Officials said copper wire theft has increased across California, disrupting telecommunications and utility services, damaging infrastructure and affecting businesses and agricultural operations.<\/p>\n

The thefts can also cause power outages, interrupt 911 emergency communications and disrupt streetlights, traffic signals and public transportation systems, according to the Attorney General\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n

Authorities said the damage can also affect healthcare facilities, schools and water and sewer systems.<\/p>\n

\u201cCopper wire theft is not simply a property crime. It is a serious public safety concern that can disrupt essential services, damage critical infrastructure, and place our communities at risk,\u201d Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis operation demonstrates our Department\u2019s commitment to proactively identifying, investigating, and holding accountable those responsible for these crimes. Through strategic enforcement efforts and collaboration with our law enforcement and community partners, we are sending a clear message that these criminal activities will not be tolerated.\u201d<\/p>\n

Officials urged residents to report suspected copper wire theft to local law enforcement, saying prompt reports can help prevent widespread communications outages and costly infrastructure damage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Two people were arrested and about 4 tons of copper wire, equivalent to roughly 3,000 feet of stolen…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":498834,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[7,138,1647,48,7608,52,51,5015,47,137,50,49,100,238],"class_list":["post-498833","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-california","tag-crime-and-public-safety","tag-downtown-los-angeles","tag-la","tag-la-county-sheriffs-department","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-lapd","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-county","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news","tag-news","tag-theft"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/498833","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=498833"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/498833\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/498834"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=498833"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=498833"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=498833"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}