ST PAUL, Minn. — Along the most beautiful running and biking trails in St. Paul are distinctive lamp posts some glowing, others dark.
"It's a tragedy that those kinds of things are going on," said St. Paul bicyclist Jay Wilkinson as he stopped to look over the Mississippi River.
The problem is copper theft, thieves who crack open the repair panels on the historically designed streetlights, string the wire right out — then sell it to metal recyclers who are willing to buy it even when obviously stamped with "City of St. Paul Public Works."
"It's terrible that somebody will take advantage of that by buying it and selling us taxpayers down the river," Wilkinson said.
Now six people are charged in a crime ring allegedly led by 41-year-old Kyaw Klay after a St. Paul Police investigation that included a confidential informant and an undercover officer.
According to the criminal complaint, the informant told police Klay's crew would steal the wire from Saint Paul streetlights, and that Dem-Con Metal Recycling in Blaine would buy the copper metal. They would pay $3 a pound if the insulation was stripped off the wire, and $2 a pound if it was still labeled "City of Saint Paul."
So an undercover officer posed as a copper thief and rode along with the crew. According to the complaint, the officer was there when the transaction took place, and the Dem-Con Metal Recycling employees were so familiar with Klay that they did not ask him for his ID.
Klay and his crew are accused of stealing wire from 25 streetlights near the Marshall Street bridge, causing $125,000 damage. They're also implicated in copper thefts in other neighborhoods — causing $85,000 and $225,000 worth of damage. All told, the copper theft in the city of St. Paul has cost the city millions.
It has even cost at least one life, according to a Minnesota State Lawmaker.
"That's when I knew that copper wire theft is more than just an inconvenience or a perpetual infrastructure expense. It's a public safety crisis," said Rep. Athena Hollins (D-St. Paul).
After Steve Wirtz and his dog were struck and killed Christmas Eve while crossing a street darkened by thieves, Rep. Hollins has a bill in the legislature that aims to restrict the sale of scrap copper wire to people who buy a state license.
Citizens have expressed their frustration at the problem as meeting in the city. And city and state leaders say the scrap yards have a role to play.
"People are stealing copper because a small number of business are looking the other way and not asking questions," Hollins said.
But one of the most conspicuous things left out of the charges against the the six alleged copper wire thieves -- even though Dem-Con Metal Recycling allegedly purchased the marked wire right in front of an undercover cop, the business is not facing charges.
Erik Schuck, the chief operating officer of Dem-Con Metal Recycling would not acknowledge that his employees were knowingly buying stolen copper wire despite what the court papers say, or share any changes being implemented at the business to prevent it from happening again.
Schuck said he is glad the suspects were caught.
Watch more Breaking The News:
Watch all of the latest stories from Breaking The News in our YouTube playlist:
WATCH MORE ON KARE 11+
Download the free KARE 11+ app for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV and other smart TV platforms to watch more from KARE 11 anytime! The KARE 11+ app includes live streams of all of KARE 11's newscasts. You'll also find on-demand replays of newscasts; the latest from KARE 11 Investigates, Breaking the News and the Land of 10,000 Stories; exclusive programs like Verify and HeartThreads; and Minnesota sports talk from our partners at Locked On Minnesota.
- Add KARE 11+ on Roku here or by searching for KARE 11 in the Roku Channel Store.
- Add KARE 11+ on Fire TV here or by searching for KARE 11 in the Amazon App Store.
- Learn more about the KARE 11+ app for Apple TV in the Apple App Store.
- Learn more about KARE 11+ here.