Burlington, IA- The Des Moines County Sheriff’s Office has announced the arrests of three individuals for theft of copper wire.
According to a news release, in December 2022, the Des Moines County Sheriff’s Office began to take reports of vandalism and theft of copper wire from Century Link.
Century Link reported their poles were being cut down, and wires hanging at the intersection of 80th Avenue and DMC Highway 99. It was determined that the wire was being cut from the poles for the purpose of stripping the copper wire.
Century Link reported several more thefts of wire in January. At that time the Des Moines County Sheriff’s Office began to conduct surveillance operations near where these thefts were taking place.
Through these surveillance operations, Detectives were able to observe several individuals stealing copper wire from this area. The individuals were stopped in a vehicle and identified.
Arrest warrants were issued for 33-year-old Christopher Oberlander of Burlington, 36-year-old Andrew Stout of West Burlington, and 53-year-old Troy Phillips of Burlington for the charges of 2nd-degree criminal mischief and 2nd-degree theft.
On Friday, January 27th, all three individuals were arrested and taken to the Des Moines County Jail.
