Festus man arrested Oct. 4 for stealing fiber cable | Police Fire | myleaderpaper.com

A 40-year-old Festus man was arrested for allegedly stealing fiber cable from utility poles near Hwy. 67 and Victoria Road southwest of Festus. The man was arrested in the same area that cables had been torn off utility poles three days before, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office reported.

A detective was doing surveillance in the area at about 11:35 a.m. Oct. 4 when he allegedly saw the man stealing cable from utility poles. A deputy arrested the man and brought him to the Jefferson County Jail in Hillsboro, the report said.

The detective was in the area because at about 2:30 a.m. Oct. 1 a deputy heard a loud crash while conducting a traffic stop. When the detective investigated where the noise came from near Victoria Road, he saw cable that belongs to AT&T had been cut from utility poles, according to the report.

An AT&T representative confirmed approximately 200 feet of cable had been cut from the poles on Oct. 1, the report said.

Lt. Col. Tim Whitney, the undersheriff, said it is not known if the man who was arrested is the same person who stole cables on Oct. 1.

The man who was arrest on Oct. 4 was still being held as of Oct. 10 on warrants from other cases, Whitney said. He said the Sheriff’s Office will seek a charge against the man through the Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for stealing and property damage.

The Sheriff’s Office has seen theft of cables from utility poles increase since the start of summer. The department reported it has investigated 58 cable thefts since June.

Anyone with information about cable thefts should call the Sheriff’s Office at 636-797-5515.

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