On August 19, at 8:30 am., three suspects wearing hard hats, utility belts, and orange vests, falsely represented themselves as employees for Charter Communications. The suspects told the resident they worked for the company and were there to cut old wire down from the utility pole. The suspects removed the wire and a concerned neighbor wrote down the suspect vehicle license plate number, due to the fact that the suspects did not have any identification on their clothing or the vehicle.
Burbank investigators responded to the address registered to the vehicle and located the suspects and the vehicle. The suspects admitted to stealing the copper wire and selling it for profit. During a search of the suspects’ vehicles, officers located numerous hard hats, utility belts, orange reflector vests, and cutting tools.
All three of the suspects were subsequently placed under arrest for Grand Theft and transported to the Glendale jail.
The three suspects arrested were Jesus Arreguin-Lopez, 29, of Panarama City; Jose Esparza, 26, of Van Nuys and Juan Lopez, 30, of Los Angeles.
The Burbank Police Department is seeking information on this or any other case involving this kind of ruse. Please contact Detective A. Kendrick (818-238-3276).
