Thousands of pounds of stolen copper recovered in San Joaquin County as police agencies combat string of thefts

Wes Bowers, Lodi News-Sentinel, Calif.
·2 min read

Jun. 28—STOCKTON — Four Stockton men were arrested by San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office deputies last week for stealing more than 3,700 pounds of copper wire.

The Sheriff's Office said deputies made three traffic stops and served a search warrant and recovered the stolen wire, which belonged to AT&T.

It is unknown exactly from where the wire was stolen.

Deputies arrested 44-year-old Randall William Kramer, 43-year-old Alvaro Cruz Lopez, 19-year-old Gustavo Lopez and 40-year-old Justino Merinomeriano, all of Stockton.

All were charged with conspiracy, possession of stolen property, and burglary tools, and all involved cars were impounded.

All four men are scheduled to appear in San Joaquin County Superior Court today.

The arrests come two months after the Sheriff's Office held a press conference with AT&T, the Lodi and Stockton police departments and leaders at the county and city levels at the Grape Festival to announce a $5,000 reward for information about the string of copper wire thefts plaguing the region.

San Joaquin County is also not the only jurisdiction combating copper wire thefts.

On June 6, an anonymous tip led to Napa County Sheriff's Office deputies serving a search warrant at a home in Kelseyville, where they recovered $140,000 worth of copper wire and narcotics.

And on June 3, an Amador County Sheriff's Department dispatcher reported a phone service outage and sent a deputy to the area of Highway 88 and Highway 124 near Ione.

Deputies arrived and found two Stockton men attempting to cut the phone lines and take the copper wire.

A coiled stretch of cut phone lines was located near the suspect's vehicle, as well as a pair of pruning shears.

In early May, deputies arrested three men at the same location for cutting the lines and stealing the wire, according to reports.

To report suspected copper theft, call ATT&T's hotline at 800-807-4205, the Lodi Police Department at 209-333-6738, or the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office at 209-468-4384.