SJ woman repeatedly loses service due to copper wire thefts; 2 caught with 150 lbs of phone lines

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- San Jose Police caught two copper wire thieves in the act, attempting to steal 150 pounds worth of phone lines.

Police said it happened early Saturday morning off San Felipe Road and Meadowlands Lane.

ABC7 found cables that appeared to be cut in the area and spoke to Ellen Worth, who lives a ten-minute drive down San Felipe Road.

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"I'm glad they got caught, I mean I understand people are struggling, everyone is, but still- go out and work," Worth said.

Worth said that in the last month, her landline went out three separate times. Her electric service provider told her it was due to copper wire thefts.

"But it's annoying cause there are a lot of older people up here, and they're retired and they depend on having their phones for emergencies. Which there have been times I've had to get in my car and drive seven miles just to call the police or whatever I need, and that's scary," Worth said.

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Solano Widenmann Leadership Academy in Vallejo canceled classes for over 600 students for the week after the school's copper wire system was stolen.

AT&T released a statement to ABC7 that said in part: "This has become a growing problem in the area that our local network team has had to address multiple times this past month."

"It affects too many people, and someone could end up dying because someone else decided to take a phone line for a few bucks. And when you put people in danger like that it's not fair," Worth said.

Experts say the copper can sell for about $4.60 a pound, and the cost to install replacements is much higher.