Posted on 10/21/2004 11:23:42 PM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
Vandals have damaged more than a dozen transmission towers in Harris and Montgomery counties during the past two months, causing thousands of dollars in damage and temporarily disrupting cell phone and radio service, authorities said.
Nine cell phone towers have been hit in northern Harris and southern Montgomery counties, causing more than $100,000 in damage, investigators said.
Many of the towers in Harris County have been struck twice, said Sgt. Jeff Stauber of the Harris County Sheriff's Department.
At least five others have been hit in Houston, said John Cannon, a Houston Police Department spokesman. There were two incidents in September and three this month, he said.
The vandals are smashing equipment and pulling out wires from inside mechanical rooms at the base of the towers, Stauber said.
"They're cutting the locks and prying open the doors, and those are pretty heavy doors," he said. "They are absolutely destroying them. Not only are they causing damage, they are disrupting service."
Authorities stepped up patrols around the towers last week and officers have been told to be on alert, Stauber said. No other incidents were reported this week, he said.
Four towers used by the Montgomery County Sheriff's office were damaged and a tower that serves the Harris County Sheriff's Department was also vandalized, Stauber said.
"It hampered our radio service to the point our deputies' car radios or hand-held radios had to reach farther out to another tower," he said.
"It disrupted our system but didn't shut it down."
The vandals are striking late at night and usually on the weekends, investigators said. Many of the towers are located in rural areas.
The motive for the vandalism remains unknown, Stauber said.
"We have no prints, no leads, no nothing," Stauber said.
Cell phone towers have sparked controversy in recent years as some companies have proposed putting the towers in or near residential communities.
Anyone with information is urged to call Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.
rosanna.ruiz@chron.com
I've been shocked about a half-dozen times in my life. It has a way of making you not want go near the same setting again.
I think that's a fine idea. And I'm sure they'd like to do it.
But some dumb ass perp will get hurt and then the lawyers will come out of the woodwork.
You WHAT! Intentionally wired the place to get someone???
I guess you'd need some real BIG warning signs and then the locals would complain more about it being an eyesore.
Anyhoo.....all these costs get passed along to us.
How about some cameras and recorders since we know this is a current problem?
How about some volunteers from a distance watching for a couple of months and reporting activity?
Exactly. It shouldn't be a "repeat problem".
Stupid lawyers. Always wrecking my fun. It's always, "No, you can't electrify this" or "No, you can't place high explosives in that" or "The courts would still be able to identify the victim through DNA analysis"...
...er...uh...where was I? Oh...oh yeah.
You WHAT! Intentionally wired the place to get someone???
Yep! And hey! I've shocked myself before, so I didn't do anything to them that I haven't done to me! So I get a pass, right? O: )
Yes. I was wondering about cameras and wouldn't lights discourage them?
I suppose lights would bother the neighbors.
Yeah, they'll give you a pass all right. A pass right down their shark lawsuit chain.
It's probably these enviro weinies, they do stupid things like this to 'protest' mans footprint on the earth.
They do things like loosen and remove bolts from electricty transmission towers, which then collapse under storm and ice conditions. These people are terrorists, and should be arrested and jailed as such. Their actions can and have cost people their lives.
I guess the police just don't have enough manpower to sit and watch for these little vermin all night long, camera's cost money and aren't in the county budget etc. They could ask for local volunteers, but then word will get to these unwashed lefty terrorists as well, and they will just lay low, or change targets, like SUV car lots, etc.
I agree. And they're interfering with police transmissions and, I would expect, ambulance calls, etc.
Classic bar exam question, criminal law. Of course, though, the perp always dies while trespassing and vandalizing.
(Not the real bar exam answer): Reckless endangerment is the statutory criminal offense of subjecting a person to substantial risk of death or serious injury. Here, placing voltage lines in the control boxes may create a substantial risk that someone could be seriously injured.
But if someone was careless, leaving some broken glass and/or scrap metal around the towers, that could be seen as tortiously negligent. Any injured vandals might even sue the property owner, if too few warning signs were visible. So any broken glass, if unreasonable, should be disposed of according to law.
One question: do I get to pack my Thunderstick of Destiny or not? I have a personal rule of never coming near a ravenous creature without being properly armed... ; )
Might not be an enviro-whacko at all;
could just be somebody sick of drivers wandering all over I-10 or 610 during rush hour blabbering on their cell phones.
Mind coming down to the station to answer a few questions? No, no, you're not a suspect,,,umm, well,,we just want to ask you a few questions.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.