Updated at 9:07 a.m., Monday, March 12, 2007
Arrests made in Pali tunnels copper theft
Advertiser Staff
Two men and a woman were arrested on felony charges yesterday for allegedly cutting copper wire from an area around the Pali Highway tunnels, state Department of Transportation officials said this morning.At about 1 p.m. yesterday, the trio allegedly scaled a cliff alongside the Kailua side of the Pali Tunnels to get to bridges that overhang a cliff, then cut open a protective pipe encasing the copper wire, according to a transportation highway lighting supervisor.
They then allegedly cut the wire, letting the pipe fall 40 feet to 50 feet down the cliff alongside the highway.
The wire did not have power running through it at the time.
A hiker saw the work and called Kailua police, who arrested the men and woman, the supervisor said. The copper wiring is valued at $350, making its theft a felony.
Transportation workers who identified the copper for police said the suspects were discovered with high-quality cutters and high-quality testers that let them determine which wires were active and which were safe to cut.
