5 Men Suspected Of Stealing Copper Wire From Beverly Hills Street Lights
BEVERLY HILLS (CBSLA.com) — Police say five men were arrested Friday on suspicion of stealing copper wire that knocked out power to Beverly Hills street lights.
An officer on patrol about 1:50 a.m. near Rexford Drive and Lomitas Avenue saw that street lights were out in the area and began to search for criminal activity, Beverly Hills police Sgt. Max Subin said.
The officer stopped a suspicious vehicle, he said.
"The on-scene investigation coupled with evidence inside the vehicle determined that the five occupants were involved with tampering with electrical street lights and the theft of copper wiring," Subin said.
Michael Padilla, Froilan Silva, Horacio Galindo, Francisco Martinez, all 18, and 19-year-old Brian Gomez were booked on suspicion of theft-related offenses.
Beverly Hills has recently been beset by thefts of copper wire, he said.
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