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Thief zapped to death while trying to steal copper wiring as power knocked out to 2,500 Californians
NY Post ^ | 1/07/26 | Dana Sauchelli

Posted on 01/08/2026 2:51:09 AM PST by Libloather

An apparently homeless thief was electrocuted to death while trying to steal copper wiring from a California construction site — as power was knocked out to 2,500 homes, reports said.

The unidentified man was killed Sunday in a vacant strip mall that’s in the process of being demolished, with witnesses saying they heard a loud explosion at around 2 p.m. before electricity went out for several hours, police told CBS News.

The explosion is believed to be a transformer that blew up, knocking out power for several hours, Pomona police said.

One neighbor rushed to the scene where a woman begged him for help.

“She just kept saying, ‘Help us,’ and I was like, ‘What am I supposed to do?,'” Mykil Walker told NBC News.

A construction worker at the scene said it wasn’t the first time someone tried to nab copper from the demolition site.

“Obviously, we kick them out for security reasons and safety reasons,” Frederico Velarde told CBS. “They just keep coming back.:

The would-be thief was apparently part of a larger crew of transients that were living on the property and who had been warned about the dangers of tampering with the live wires, Velarde said.

(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Conspiracy; Health/Medicine; History
KEYWORDS: bzzzz; california; copper; power; wiring
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To: Libloather

And it was all a lagniappe - he got fried for free...


41 posted on 01/08/2026 5:12:15 AM PST by trebb (So many fools - so little time...)
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To: ClearCase_guy

Positive feelings here...


42 posted on 01/08/2026 5:16:48 AM PST by Big Red Badger (ALL Things Will be Revealed !)
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To: Libloather

$13 per kilogram. 37 cents per ounce... and that’s on the commodities market, not the scrap market. You’d need to steal an entire industrial reel of wire to get any kind of decent return... yet they keep doing it.


43 posted on 01/08/2026 5:21:57 AM PST by alancarp (George Orwell was an optimist.)
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To: Libloather

I’ve got a live one here.

Looks like Antoine got a little hot under the collar.

44 posted on 01/08/2026 5:26:06 AM PST by Magnum44 (...against all enemies, foreign and domestic... )
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To: Libloather

Knowing the Left, they’ll solve this problem by giving out Volt Meters at homeless shelters.


45 posted on 01/08/2026 5:26:26 AM PST by BobL (Trusting one's doctor is the #1 health mistake one can make.)
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To: sonova

“Give me video!”

The one from India is classic. A guy tries getting a ‘free ride’ on an electrically-powered train by standing on the roof. He learned that it was a one-way ticket, after turning into a lightning bolt.


46 posted on 01/08/2026 5:29:15 AM PST by BobL (Trusting one's doctor is the #1 health mistake one can make.)
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To: Libloather

Can’t blame this jughead’s demise on President Trump or ICE. This sounds more like something caused by “America’s Got Talent.”


47 posted on 01/08/2026 6:50:20 AM PST by FlingWingFlyer (You can vote your way into Communism but you have to shoot your way out. Good Luck New Yawk.)
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To: Freedom4US

Well, I am shocked!


48 posted on 01/08/2026 7:08:55 AM PST by sasquatch (Do NOT forget Ashli Babbit! c/o piytar)
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To: Freedom4US
electrocuted to death

It was an awkward construction, but Merriam-Webster defines "electrocuted" either to be shocked by electricity or killed, or executed by electricity. For instance, if writing about a convict on death row, the meaning of "electrocuted" would be clear in context. For a person looting a demolition site, not so much. I might have phrased the led, "A would-be thief died by electrocution when, ..." Less awkward and unambiguous.

49 posted on 01/08/2026 7:10:33 AM PST by Lonesome in Massachussets ( Thorough planning and careful preparation is no substitute for wishful thinking. )
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To: Libloather

Copper cooking another crispy critter


50 posted on 01/08/2026 7:12:52 AM PST by dennisw (There is no limit to human stupidity / )
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To: Libloather
Dear Copper Theives, study up on this:
51 posted on 01/08/2026 7:13:03 AM PST by 55Ford (https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftse1.mm.bing.net%2Fth%2Fid%2FOIP.Xy4oYwb)
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To: BobL

Newscum will announce a billion dollar project to educate the homeless on the dangers of electricity.

99.9999% of the funds will be stolen by Democrat party hacks.


52 posted on 01/08/2026 7:15:49 AM PST by cgbg ("Your identity is how power treats you.")
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To: Libloather

Last words, “You’ll never take me alive, Copper!”


53 posted on 01/08/2026 7:16:24 AM PST by dfwgator ("I am Charlie Kirk!")
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To: Libloather

Voltmeters are cheap too.


54 posted on 01/08/2026 7:16:31 AM PST by plain talk
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To: Libloather

I worked in a power plant under construction. It was said by construction workers that if you could not DOUBLE YOUR WAGES with stolen copper, you were a poor construction worker.
They would come in with a light lunch box, leave with a heavy one.


55 posted on 01/08/2026 8:18:21 AM PST by Ruy Dias de Bivar (REOPEN THE MENTAL HOSPITALS CLOSED IN THE 1970s!)
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To: Libloather

I believe his name was Sparky.


56 posted on 01/08/2026 8:19:38 AM PST by Repealthe17thAmendment
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To: PGalt

Sorry, but it seems to me that this thief did not have to go through a court trial to achieve justice.


57 posted on 01/08/2026 8:41:47 AM PST by oldtech
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To: oldtech

No, the charges were thrown out.


58 posted on 01/08/2026 8:47:53 AM PST by Laslo Fripp (Does anybody proofread anymore)
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To: BobL

If I remember that video .the guy was on the railroad car and the people all around were pleading to get him to get down ..but he just kept walking till he touched the power lines...and zot! The victim looked disoriented pre walking into power line.
Lots of people out there who are unable to survive


59 posted on 01/08/2026 9:06:33 AM PST by Getready (Wisdom is more valuable than gold and harder to find.)
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To: Libloather
If only he'd been taught electrical safety as a child.


60 posted on 01/08/2026 9:43:35 AM PST by fidelis (👈 Under no obligation to respond to rude, ignorant, abusive, bellicose, and obnoxious posts.)
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