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Copper wiring stolen from outside a Council Bluffs business

News

June 12th, 2015 by Ric Hanson

Police in Council Bluffs are asking for the public’s help in locating two men who allegedly used an SUV to tear electrical wiring from a transformer located near a restaurant. Authorities say the incident happened today (Friday) at around 6:40-a.m.

Officers were dispatched to Ruby Tuesday, at 3150 24th Avenue. A witness saw two men pulling electrical wiring from a transformer box located on the south side of the business. The men were using a black SUV to pull the wires from the box. The two suspects saw the witness observe them, and sped out of the parking lot, traveling southbound on Bass Pro Drive, dragging the wiring behind.

At the intersection of Bass Pro Drive and 24th Avenue, the wires became entangled with a stop sign post, pulling the sign out of the ground. The suspect vehicle stopped in the 2500 Block of Mid America Drive and placed two sections of the wiring into their vehicle. Video from a traffic camera, then shows the suspect vehicle turning southbound onto So. 24th Street and then getting onto I-80 westbound from 24th Street.

The suspect vehicle is a black Lincoln Navigator with Nebraska license plates on it. The suspects were described as white males, with one of them being tall and thin and the other short and stocky. Both men were wearing hard hats at the time of the theft.

The cost to replace the copper wiring is expected to be in excess of $10,000. Anyone with information about the suspect’s vehicle or the suspects, is urged to contact the Council Bluffs Police Department at 328-STOP. You can remain anonymous and your tip could be eligible for a cash reward.

Below are two still shots of the suspect vehicle  as it was traveling eastbound on Mid America Drive.
vehcle 2 vehicle 1