American Electric Power is using recent deaths and the sentencing of two men in Washington County to help deter would-be copper thieves.
The local case involved two Chapmanville, W.Va., men who admitted to stealing more than 14,000 feet of power line cables in the Lowell area, and disrupting electric service for several hours.
The cable cost AEP $28,162 to replace, including labor. The scrap value of the metal was about $3,000.
AEP spokeswoman Vikki Michalski said the company experiences dozens of similar copper thefts every year. The thieves generally target grounding wire, but in the local case, Roy B. Woody, 37, and Troy W. Wheatley, 29, took transmission lines, too.
"Safety is our main concern with these types of cases," Michalski said. "We're concerned about public safety, the safety of our employees, and the dangers involved in this kind of crime. This can be deadly. We've had two recent deaths (associated with the theft of copper from electric companies)."
Four people have been killed this year while attempting to steal copper wire in the Columbus, Ohio-based electric utility's service area. State Police say two people were killed in southern West Virginia.
The other deaths occurred near Chillicothe, Ohio, and in Harrisonburg, Va., AEP spokesman Phil Moye said.
The most recent incident occurred last week in Boone County, W.Va. State Police say the body of Harold Holstein, 42, was discovered by a power company worker who had responded to an outage in the area. Another man was injured.
A Ross County man was killed June 26 while he was attempting to steal coper grounding wire from a substation near Clarksburg, Ohio, according to AEP. On June 6, a Bruno, W.Va., man was killed while attempting to take grounding wire from a pole in Logan County, W.Va.
Moye said AEP has found thieves using trucks to pull down wire, climbing equipment, tree stands designed for hunting, even climbing spikes used by power company linemen.
"With that increase in that kind of activity comes the fatalities," Moye said. "It is a very dangerous thing."
Evidence from theft scenes shows thieves are getting injured as well, including one Monday who was hospitalized.
"I mean these people were burned badly from contact with live electrical wires," Moye said.
Copper thefts peaked in 2008, when the price per pound for scrap hit $4. The price today is about $2.50 per pound, which is apparently still tempting for some criminals.
Washington County Sheriff Larry Mincks said copper thefts are common in the area, but usually construction sites or fixtures in vacant homes are targeted. Mincks and AEP officials said the case involving the Chapmanville men was the only local one involving public utilities.
Woody and Wheatley were charged with fourth-degree felony disrupting a public service. They each faced up to 18 months in prison.
Woody was sentenced Thursday to serve 180 days in jail and five years probation and to complete drug and alcohol treatment. He had no prior felonies on his record.
Wheatley was sentenced to six months in prison. He has a prior drug conviction, according to Assistant Washington County Prosecutor Susan Vessels.
Both men appeared before Washington County Common Pleas Judge Susan Boyer, who also ordered the men repay $28,162 to AEP for damages.
Police have said the men were suspected of stealing line in multiple counties over several nights before they were arrested in Lowell.
Vessels said she was unaware of any pending charges in other counties.
"The plea agreement in this case and sentencing would have no bearing on any other charges that may be filed elsewhere," she said.
AEP has posted a video on its website featuring the local case to show the impact of such thefts.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, copper thefts nationwide cost utilities approximately $1 billion annually, with a large percentage of the cost passed directly to consumers.
The Associated Press contributed.
