LANTANA, Fla. (CBS12) — A Lantana man, Samuel Tirado, 29, was arrested for stealing over 20 pounds of copper from a telecommunications compound, causing an estimated $10,000 in damages while making only $120 from selling the scrap.
Deputies were called Wednesday morning to the telecom site after surveillance captured Tirado exiting the compound with the copper.
When confronted by a business inspector, Tirado claimed to work for the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) and presented his driver’s license. However, the inspector grew suspicious and took photos of his ID and vehicle license plate.
Law enforcement found a cut chain link near the entrance, damaged wires, missing grounding plates, nuts, bolts, and tools including a lineman’s plier nearby.
EEI confirmed Tirado had been a former employee but left the company in 2022 due to poor work ethic. Officials said Tirado stole grounding plates belonging to T-Mobile, Dish, and Verizon, causing thousands in damages.
Using the license plate photo, deputies tracked Tirado as he left near a scrap metal dealer in West Palm Beach. He was stopped and arrested during a traffic stop on I-95 southbound in Lantana.
During questioning, Tirado admitted to using his previous employer’s universal access code to enter the site and steal copper, motivated by the large quantity he noticed the day before.
A scrap yard receipt found in his pocket showed he earned just $120 from the stolen copper.
Tirado was booked on multiple charges, including copper theft, criminal mischief, trespassing, dealing in stolen property, and pawning stolen items.
