Suspects Arrested For Stealing Copper Wire from City Streetlights

Street light outage on S. Lenox St. in Bay View. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

Three men, one of them known on the street as the “Green Goblin,” have been arrested on suspicion of stealing thousands of feet of copper wire from the City of Milwaukee’s streetlight system.

Over the past two years, thieves have stolen more than $800,000 worth of copper wire from the city through roughly 250 individual heists. Thieves are targeting streetlight circuitry, cracking into ground vault junction boxes and stealing thick underground-gauge wire, or pulling the wire directly out of the streetlights themselves, leaving behind neighborhoods covered in darkness.

“Streetlights, if folks are aware, are a very important part of public safety in cities, including in the City of Milwaukee,” Mayor Cavalier Johnson said during a press conference Monday. “They help our residents to feel safer in the neighborhoods by providing visibility when people are traveling on the streets after dark.”

The Milwaukee County district attorney charged three men Sunday with stealing copper wire, among other counts including fleeing officers and possession of cocaine. One of them, Alvin Clifton Harris, 51, known to his alleged accomplices as the Green Goblin, is believed to have orchestrated a number of thefts with Mario Gill, 55, and Daryll Horton, 58. Harris came by his moniker because of his truck and his “vicious” demeanor, Gill told police.

Driving a battered blue Chevy Tahoe around the north side, Harris would target multiple junction boxes at a time, according to criminal complaints. In one instance, Harris is alleged to have been involved in stealing more than $4,000 worth of copper wire from four underground vaults. After his arrest on Oct. 20, Harris told police he was never involved in removing the wire, that he only paid Gill and Horton for the wire, primarily with crack cocaine, and that he sold it at scrapyards. He did admit that he knew the wire was stolen, according to the criminal complaint.

Authorities believe Harris and the other two men may be responsible for a large number of wire thefts, the rate of which has been increasing over the past two years. The mayor is asking residents to report streetlight outages to the city Department of Public Works (DPW) and possible thefts to the police.

The Milwaukee Police Department arrested Harris and his accomplices after a “diligent investigation,” one that remains ongoing, Assistant Police Chief Paul Lough said.

“I think the arrest of these three individuals will make a huge dent in these incidents,” Lough said. “Still under investigation about how many others they might be good for, or how many other people might be involved, to include where some of the stolen items were ultimately sold or stored at.”

The impact of the wire thefts isn’t only felt in the neighborhoods darkened by looted junction boxes. The outages tie up DPW repair crews who would otherwise be restoring streetlights that need more routine maintenance. The time-intensive work required to respond to the thefts has doubled the workload of the city’s electricians, taking them away from upgrading old circuits to the task of rewiring pilfered ground vault boxes.

“These thefts are making it harder for us to keep Milwaukee streetlights on and our residents deserve better,” said DPW Commissioner Jerrel Kruschke.

The department is trying to figure out a way to make the copper wire in the streetlight system harder to steal. It is also urging scrap metal dealers to “be alert to the possibility” that the copper material peddled to them is stolen. Kruschke also noted, for potential thieves, the risk involved: “This is very dangerous. These are electrified circuits.”

Kruschke previously told a Common Council committee the thefts have mostly hit newer circuits, operating at 240 volts. The city’s older circuits are far more dangerous, operating at approximately 2,200 volts.

Harris was charged with felony theft and conspiracy to commit damage to public property, both of which carry a potential sentence of three years and six months. He is also charged with cocaine possession with intent to deliver, carrying a potential sentence of 16 years and four months as a repeat offender. Horton is charged with criminal damage to public property, each count carrying a potential sentence of three years and six months. Gill faces charges of criminal damage to public property and theft; both are felony charges.

The mayor said the city would continue working with law enforcement partners to make sure thieves are held accountable for stealing “this vital infrastructure and leave our neighbors in the dark.”

Milwaukee County District Attorney Kent Lovern said his office would seek “felony outcomes” in the cases against the alleged thieves. “This is nonviolent crime that has a reverberating impact on thousands of people in our neighborhoods in this city,” Lovern said.