SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY-(VVNG.com): In an attempt to catch those responsible for recent copper theft, Verizon is offering up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction. The thefts of the copper communications cable in the 16 incidents left residents without telephone or internet posing a threat to public safety.
The outages affected hundreds of Verizon customers predominantly in the San Bernardino County area with some also being in Riverside and Los Angeles County. The 16 incidents occurred in a span of only six months, with the most recent theft on June 22nd near the city of San Bernardino. Verizon representatives say, in all approximately 16,000 feet of copper communications cable has been stolen leaving customers without service for in some cases, for days.
“These thefts not only disconnect out customers from the phone and online services they count on every day, they also endanger the communities where they reside by severing a communication link to emergency services we all depend on in times of crisis,” said Margaret Serjak, region president for Verizon of California. “We will not tolerate these deliberate and malicious acts against our customers and our communications network.”
The thefts mostly occurred around the San Bernardino County cities of Hesperia, San Bernardino and Victorville. Other incidents have taken place in Thermal and the city of Baldwin Park, in Riverside and Los Angeles Counties.
Verizon has implemented additional security measures to prevent future thefts and is working closely with state and local law enforcement authorities to find and prosecute those responsible.
The company urges anyone with information about these crimes to contact Verizon Security at 1-800-997-3287: or Deouty R. Oakleaf with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department at (760)248-7655.
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