Mitchell Bedolla Garcia has been arrested for allegedly stealing $1300 worth of copper wire from a hardware store, highlighting an increase in copper thefts in the area.
Garcia is accused of disguising the theft by loading copper wire into a box for a vacuum cleaner and paying just the price of the box at the register.
Authorities linked Garcia's arrest to a surge in copper thefts in Contra Costa County, where outages due to these thefts affected critical services including 911.
With copper prices rising significantly, thefts have surged nationally, prompting actions from companies like AT&T, who have encountered repeated losses and are seeking legal recourse.
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