2 days ago
Copper thieves knock radio station off the air: MPD
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Police say copper thieves temporarily knocked a Hispanic radio station off the air when they stole $160,000 worth of copper wiring from the transmitter towers.
On Sunday, May 18, WGSF Ambiente Radio 1030 AM lost its signal. When the station owner went to the transmitter towers on Jackson Avenue to find out what was wrong, he discovered the copper wiring was gone.
According to the police, someone broke into the building housing the radio transmitter and stole copper cables and components. They also cut the copper wiring running underground to the radio towers.
The fencing around the transmitters had also been cut, and someone had removed the copper components from the electrical box to the towers.
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Investigators said Kyle Walton, 35, Terrence Goodman, 32, and Jonathan Yarbrough, 52, were arrested after they were caught burning the copper cables in front of a house in the 1700 block of National Street, less than a half mile from the radio transmitter towers.
A man who wanted to remain anonymous said he smelled the smoke before he saw several police cars pull up on his street.
'They dug a hole in the yard to burn it, 'he said. 'They caught them in the act of burning it.'
Police said they received a tip that the individuals responsible for the copper theft were seen dragging copper cables toward National Street on the day of the burglary. Another tipster called a few days after the theft to report that several people were burning the cables.
An engineer for the radio station estimated the cost to repair all the damage was around $160,000.
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'That's terrible, said the neighbor. 'They should suffer the consequences. You take a radio station off the air?'
Police took four men into custody, but so far, only three are facing charges. Walton, Goodman, and Yarbrough were charged with burglary of a building, theft of property, and tampering with evidence.
Yarbrough was released on a $5,000 bond, while Goodman and Walton are being held on $100,000 bonds.
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