Copper wire theft will cost $30,000 to fix

LYNNWOOD – The lights at a community baseball field are out after someone ripped about 3,000 feet of copper wire out of the ground.

The theft happened some time Wednesday at the Lynnwood Athletic Complex, in the 3000 block of 184th Street SW. The baseball field is owned jointly by the city and the Edmonds School District.

The thieves broke into the junction boxes at the base of the poles and ripped out the wire running between the lights, said Bob Colinas, the city’s parks supervisor. It is expected to cost about $30,000 to repair and replace the wiring.

“This had to be someone who planned ahead, someone who knew what they were doing,” Lynnwood police spokeswoman Shannon Sessions said. “It was so dangerous.”

Theft of copper has been on the rise as prices for the metal have skyrocketed. Crooks are getting paid big bucks for copper and other stolen metals at recycling plants.

“Some (recycling businesses) are doing a good job working with police and turning down suspicious materials, but too many are not,” Sessions said.

Utility districts are working with recyclers and construction companies to try to get stricter regulations on copper recycling passed this year in the Legislature.

Everett: Bank robbery suspect arrested quietly

A man suspected of robbing a bank was arrested Thursday after his friends advised him that they saw his picture on the news, police said Friday.

The man reportedly robbed Key Bank in south Everett Wednesday afternoon. The next day he called 911 after his friends told him that television stations were broadcasting his picture in connection with a bank robbery, Everett police Lt. Mike Franckowiak said.

Police went to the man’s residence and arrested him without a struggle. He was booked into the Snohomish County Jail for investigation for first-degree robbery.

From Herald staff reports