Five people were arrested after a Thursday telecommunications cable theft in Jacksonville, a social media post from Jacksonville police says.
Michael Shrubs, 53; Jerry Rogers, 43; and Christina Parnell, 33, all of Jacksonville, are charged with theft of scrap metal, tampering with physical evidence, criminal mischief, unauthorized use of another’s property to facilitate certain crimes, and damaging wires and other fixtures of telephone, cable and electric companies, all felonies, and possessing instruments of a crime, a misdemeanor, the post says.
Kevin Johnson and Bryan George, both of Jacksonville, were cited for criminal trespassing and possession of drug paraphernalia and were released, the post says.
About 6:49 a.m., police responded to a theft at the Brightspeed Communications cable near 3008 South First Street and found cut cable and a damaged utility pole, according to the post. Officers followed fresh “drag marks” into a nearby wooded area and found a campsite where they detained the five people, the post says.
Police found burned and exposed wire and discarded cable casings from the campsite and surrounding area, as well as a “warm, smoky burn pit,” wire cutters and a reciprocating saw, according to the post. A Brightspeed employee identified the cable and casings as company property and estimated the damage to the cables and electric pole at about $35,000, the post says.
The property’s owner said the people did not have permission to be there, according to the post.
Rafael is a crime and breaking news reporter at the Arkansas Democrat Gazette. Before joining the Democrat-Gazette, he wrote breaking news and feature stories at Reuters in Mexico City, where he covered a range of topics across Central and South America. He has also covered housing, education, business and other topics at The Baltimore Banner. He is a graduate of the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York (CUNY) and is from San Juan, Puerto Rico.