ST. LOUIS – A man accused of repeatedly cutting and stealing AT&T phone wires in St. Louis now faces felony charges.
Prosecutors with the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office have charged Rathan Robinson, 32, with one count of stealing ($750 or more) and one count of tampering with service of utility or institution.
According to court documents obtained by FOX 2, an AT&T employee reported in February that 800 feet of their cables were missing. It was suspected that wires were removed from utility poles in the 5900 block of Wabada Avenue in St. Louis’ Wells-Goodfellow neighborhood.
Authorities reviewed surveillance cameras in the area that caught Robinson allegedly “in the act of raising a pair of wire cutters to cut the cables,” per court documents. Investigators say he has committed the same crime on several occasions.
AT&T says that the removed wires led to various interruptions in phone and cable service, also causing hundreds of dollars in damages.
St. Louis police informed FOX 2 of a rise in thefts involving stolen phone lines earlier this month, once investigating five cases over 10 days.
Investigators believe that thieves are cutting black wire casings to hold a nest of ultra-fine copper wires. After that, the suspects may burn away the multi-color insulation from those ultra-fine copper wires in an effort to sell the wires for scrap.
Police have also reported such thefts in the 5700 block of Maffitt Avenue, the 5300 block of Union Boulevard, and the 5900 block of Natural Bridge Avenue.
Robinson is jailed at the St. Louis Justice Center without bond and has an initial court appearance scheduled for Thursday. Authorities served a warrant Wednesday leading to his arrest.
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