Police charge man after south Edmonton copper wire thefts: EPS

Police have charged a man in connection to the tampering of switching cubicles and copper wire theft in south Edmonton.

Last month, police started an investigation after reports of mischief and copper wire theft from an Epcor switching cubicle near 101 Street and 6 Avenue SW, said police in a release.

Investigators said they saw a suspect on CCTV footage who was “reportedly stealing security equipment and causing damage to a switching cubicle” before leaving the area.

On April 3, at roughly 6:30 a.m., police were on scene to investigate another theft from an Epcor switching cubicle that occurred on April 1 at an auto mall in the area of 103A Street at the Calgary Trail exit.

Police said they found a suspect, who was seen trespassing on private property, and the description of the suspect, based on his “unique clothing,” matched the footage they found from the investigation in March.

Police arrested the man on scene, and he was found to have 24 outstanding criminal warrants. Officers searched the man and found tools as well as a large hunting knife.

Luke Michael Dean, 32, was charged with two counts of unlawful disguise with intent to commit an indictable offence, two counts of breaching conditions of a release order, mischief over $5,000, and theft under $5,000.

Police say they don’t believe these incidents are related to the copper wire thefts and the tampering of switching cubicles they notified the public about in February, however, the investigation is still ongoing.