Deputies: Man's Copper Theft Attempt Shocking

LAND O' LAKES - Just before 5 p.m. Tuesday, Lisa Urena heard an explosion and then noticed her power was out.

She looked across her property at 25146 Hyde Park Blvd. to the Withlacoochee River Electric Cooperative substation, saw a man in the restricted area and assumed it was a power company employee, according to a sheriff's office report.

Urena told her husband, Luis, what happened, he went over for a closer look and noticed the man in the blue shirt with orange reflective tape had bolt cutters.

"Is everyone OK?" Luis Urena asked.

The man stood up, appearing "incoherent and dazed," and said he was fine, the report said. But blood dripped from his ears, nose and mouth. His arms were skinned. A moment later he climbed over the fence and picked up a copper wire while Urena continued questioning him.

"My boss told me to get some copper wire," the man reportedly said.

As it turned out, he man wasn't wearing a Withlacoochee Electric uniform; it was from a towing company.

Luis Urena offered to summon medical help but the man declined, saying he had a warrant out for his arrest, according to the report. The man asked Urena to drive him home, and at that moment Urena suspected the stranger was stealing the copper.

At that point, Urena asked his wife to call 911 and she went inside their home. The man followed, reportedly taking the phone from her as she spoke with dispatchers. Then he ran out of the house and Luis Urena chased him.

A few minutes later, a deputy arrived and joined the pursuit into the woods. More deputies arrived and soon the suspect yelled for help, saying he couldn't walk and was in pain, according to the report.

They helped him walk out of the woods and could see his left hand was severely burned and three fingers were charred and missing flesh. He had more burns and cuts on his face and other parts of his body.

The suspect was flown by medical helicopter to Tampa General Hospital, where his condition wasn't known Wednesday. Sheriff's office spokesman Doug Tobin declined to release the man's name, saying he likely will face theft charges.

The punishment in this case certainly exceeded any crime, Tobin said.

"Walking into a substation is about as dangerous as you get in risking your own life," the spokesman said.

Signs around the power company facility state: "Warning Keep Out! Hazardous voltage inside. Can cause serious injury or death. Authorized personnel only."

The report said the suspect left behind a black leather bag containing crescent wrenches, screwdrivers, pliers, tin snips, a hammer, copper bolts and gloves.

He apparently had cut the copper wire leading to a transformer, leaving about 5,300 customers without power for about two hours, the report said, and causing at least $10,000 in damages - and possibly hundreds of thousands of dollars more.