A Florence man was arrested Monday for allegedly causing $96,000 worth of damage to township utility poles through the theft of ground wires, police said.
FLORENCE — A Florence man was arrested Monday for allegedly causing $96,000 worth of damage to township utility poles through the theft of ground wires, police said.
Brian Lakatosh, 25, allegedly stole the wires from or otherwise damaged at least 61 poles in the township, police said in a release. After speaking with PSE&G, Florence police estimated the cost of the damage to the poles between $84,244 and $96,674. The value of the wire stolen is estimated to be about $1,000, police said.
The removal of the ground wires caused a drop in voltage to consumers, police said.
Lakatosh was arrested on an unrelated warrant Monday and admitted to detectives that he stole the missing wires, police said.
A search of his residence yielded a one-foot section of ground wire, scraps of wire insulation, hypodermic syringes and bags and envelopes that contained suspected heroin residue, police said.
Lakatosh was charged with criminal mischief, theft, causing or risking widespread injury and possession of hypodermic syringes, police said. He is being held in Burlington County Jail in lieu of $30,000 bail.
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