Two accused in Verizon copper wire theft
Two men accused of stealing 700 feet of copper wire from a Verizon tower may have been the cause of a power outage over the summer, according to state police.
According to court documents, Jeffrey Howell, 38, of Smithfield and Garrett Keith Weeder Jr., 35, of Carmichaels stole about $3,700 worth of copper wire from a tower on Smithfield Masontown Road in Nicholson Township. Police said the thefts occurred over two days in May.
Howell reportedly told police that Weeder took the wire to a scrapyard in Hopwood.
Both men were charged Friday with felony counts of theft of secondary metal, risking a catastrophe and criminal mischief.
District Judge Daniel C. Shimshock set Howell’s bond at $25,000. Weeder’s had not yet been arraigned as of press time.