2 charged for stealing copper wire from tunnel in St. Paul
Posted: Sun Dec 08, 2024 4:36 am
I took the liberty of combining parts of several articles as some contained more information but were worded very poorly and others were worded better but contained fewer details.
https://www.kare11.com/article/news/loc ... 9cf06576be
https://www.twincities.com/2024/07/31/s ... ge-tunnel/
https://www.startribune.com/two-charged ... /600628848
7/31/2024 Two people are facing criminal charges after authorities alleged they caused tens of thousands of dollars of damage to a tunnel in St. Paul and stole copper wires.
Joseph Montean and Hadi Marshall are both charged in Ramsey County with possession of burglary or theft tools and energy or telecom-damage or theft to line, insulator, wire, cable, or current of line or cable. Prosecutors believe the pair stole copper wire within hours of crews repairing damage from another copper theft.
According to the criminal complaint, Xcel Energy workers were doing repairs on the tunnel below the Smith Avenue Bridge because someone had stolen copper from a live-feed wire, causing $75,000 - $100,000 in damage. When workers came back to the tunnel to continue repairs at around 9 a.m. Tuesday morning, they found two people in the tunnel, one in a black shirt and the other in a yellow safety vest. The pair shined a flashlight at a worker and then turned to leave the tunnel. The worker alerted Xcel employees, who called the police.
Officers responded and waited near the three tunnel exits and saw Marshall and Montean exit near Shepard Road. According to the charges, the pair dropped a collapsible ladder and backpack near the tunnel, and Marshall yelled “We’re medics!” as officers arrested them. No one else was found in the tunnels.
Marshall said she is an urban explorer who runs Medex. People check in when going into tunnels; if they don’t check out, she goes to look for them, the complaints continued. She and Montean said they went into the tunnels at 1:30 a.m. to look for a missing explorer named Cassandra. Marshall said they encountered scrappers; she said they had not stolen copper from the tunnels. Montean said they didn’t find Cassandra, but could not give her last name or describe her.
Police searched Montean’s backpack and found a reciprocating saw, reflective clothing and a Nomex-lined glove designed to protect against high heat and burns. Inside Marshall’s backpack were wire cutters and a combustible gas detector. Both backpacks bore an orange tag labeled “AT&T communications interstate division,” and neither bag had medical supplies, according to the charges. When asked about the saw police discovered with a piece of copper wedged in it, Montean said he found it “down there.”
Xcel Energy employees went in the tunnel system after the arrests and didn’t find anyone else. Xcel employees later found that someone had dug through the ceiling of their sandstone tunnel and accessed a tunnel above theirs that contained wires belonging to another service provider.
The damage was new and hadn’t been there when they left Monday night. Below the hole in the ceiling were carts and two-wheeled dollies. Copper wire that had been cut from Xcel Energy and other systems was strapped to the carts.
Montean is scheduled to appear in court on August 27, and Marshall on August 29. Marshall has a misdemeanor theft warrant out of Anoka County after failing to appear at a pretrial meeting. Both suspects were ordered to stay away from Xcel Energy tunnels.
In an effort to further address copper wire theft, the Legislature passed new measures this year that will require people to obtain a state-issued license to sell scrap copper; people with a license to perform electrical work will be excluded.
https://www.kare11.com/article/news/loc ... 9cf06576be
https://www.twincities.com/2024/07/31/s ... ge-tunnel/
https://www.startribune.com/two-charged ... /600628848
7/31/2024 Two people are facing criminal charges after authorities alleged they caused tens of thousands of dollars of damage to a tunnel in St. Paul and stole copper wires.
Joseph Montean and Hadi Marshall are both charged in Ramsey County with possession of burglary or theft tools and energy or telecom-damage or theft to line, insulator, wire, cable, or current of line or cable. Prosecutors believe the pair stole copper wire within hours of crews repairing damage from another copper theft.
According to the criminal complaint, Xcel Energy workers were doing repairs on the tunnel below the Smith Avenue Bridge because someone had stolen copper from a live-feed wire, causing $75,000 - $100,000 in damage. When workers came back to the tunnel to continue repairs at around 9 a.m. Tuesday morning, they found two people in the tunnel, one in a black shirt and the other in a yellow safety vest. The pair shined a flashlight at a worker and then turned to leave the tunnel. The worker alerted Xcel employees, who called the police.
Officers responded and waited near the three tunnel exits and saw Marshall and Montean exit near Shepard Road. According to the charges, the pair dropped a collapsible ladder and backpack near the tunnel, and Marshall yelled “We’re medics!” as officers arrested them. No one else was found in the tunnels.
Marshall said she is an urban explorer who runs Medex. People check in when going into tunnels; if they don’t check out, she goes to look for them, the complaints continued. She and Montean said they went into the tunnels at 1:30 a.m. to look for a missing explorer named Cassandra. Marshall said they encountered scrappers; she said they had not stolen copper from the tunnels. Montean said they didn’t find Cassandra, but could not give her last name or describe her.
Police searched Montean’s backpack and found a reciprocating saw, reflective clothing and a Nomex-lined glove designed to protect against high heat and burns. Inside Marshall’s backpack were wire cutters and a combustible gas detector. Both backpacks bore an orange tag labeled “AT&T communications interstate division,” and neither bag had medical supplies, according to the charges. When asked about the saw police discovered with a piece of copper wedged in it, Montean said he found it “down there.”
Xcel Energy employees went in the tunnel system after the arrests and didn’t find anyone else. Xcel employees later found that someone had dug through the ceiling of their sandstone tunnel and accessed a tunnel above theirs that contained wires belonging to another service provider.
The damage was new and hadn’t been there when they left Monday night. Below the hole in the ceiling were carts and two-wheeled dollies. Copper wire that had been cut from Xcel Energy and other systems was strapped to the carts.
Montean is scheduled to appear in court on August 27, and Marshall on August 29. Marshall has a misdemeanor theft warrant out of Anoka County after failing to appear at a pretrial meeting. Both suspects were ordered to stay away from Xcel Energy tunnels.
In an effort to further address copper wire theft, the Legislature passed new measures this year that will require people to obtain a state-issued license to sell scrap copper; people with a license to perform electrical work will be excluded.
That connection has been around since at least the mid 2000's.