Detectives from the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office arrested three people early Friday morning after they were allegedly caught tearing down overhead Consolidated Communications cables for the copper in the wires, which presumably they would have sold for scrap had they not been apprehended.
The Sheriff’s office has been engaged in a weeks-long investigation into a string of cable thefts in the Midcoast area that Consolidated Communications estimates have amounted to $230,000 worth of lost profits and damages.
Detectives arrived at Jefferson Rd. in Whitefield and found the suspects, Jennifer Decosta, 44, Steve French, 54, and Reggie French, 49, allegedly using a ladder and shepherd’s hook to pull down the cables before cutting them with a power grinder.
The Friday morning alleged theft attempt alone is estimated to have caused $10,000 in damages.
According to law enforcement, Reggie French and Steve French are brothers, and Decosta is Reggie French’s girlfriend. The trio live in China, Maine.
All three are being charged with Class C Felony Aggravated Criminal Mischief. The Sheriff’s Office is currently working to identify the buyers of the allegedly stolen copper.
