EVANSVILLE, Ind. — Evansville police arrested five people Tuesday afternoon after they were caught stealing copper wiring from a manhole on North Evans Avenue. The wiring, confirmed to belong to CenterPoint Energy, was valued at over $200,000, and its removal caused significant damage to the utility’s infrastructure.

Officers arrived at the scene after getting a call about people near an open manhole. They saw a person pulling a large piece of copper wire from the sewer. None of the suspects were wearing uniforms or identification that would indicate they were authorized to be working on the utility lines.

The Evansville Police Department was joined at the scene by City of Evansville. Inside the sewer, they found a black milk crate containing damaged copper wire, along with tools includi

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