A group of men in Aurora, Colorado, was caught allegedly attempting to get hold of large copper wire spools stashed in a warehouse. The culprits are accused of loading them into a pickup truck, but were swiftly intercepted by police officers before they could escape.
According to a press release issued by the Aurora Police Department (APD), the incident occurred at around 12:42 a.m. on May 7. At the time, the APD was called for some “suspicious activity” happening at a local construction company warehouse, located at the 3300 block of N. Lewinston Street.
Video shared by the APD shows a pickup truck outside the warehouse, as well as two individuals inside it rolling out spools of copper wire. As per the release, these are valued at around $12,000 each and weigh about 250 pounds.
Despite the construction company using its PA system to instruct the individuals to exit the warehouse, the alleged attempted thieves didn’t comply.
Police Arrive, Suspects Arrested
Released bodycam footage shows Aurora police officers arriving at the scene exactly 11 minutes after the APD was called. One officer approached one of the suspects and asked him what was happening. The suspect, 28-year-old Brian Garcia, meanwhile, answered that he didn’t know what was going on, adding that he was “just the driver.” Garcia was arrested immediately after.
The clip then shows an officer approaching the red pickup truck. A second suspect was seen sitting on the front passenger’s seat, and he was instructed to exit the vehicle. The man, 51-year-old Raul Luevano, complied, too, and he was also put in handcuffs. Officers then inspected the pickup truck and found two copper wire spools loaded up in its bed.
Both men are facing burglary and theft charges, while a third suspect remains at large. On top of that, the business sustained $3,000 in damages to its warehouse bay door.
Colorado’s Cooper Wire Theft Problem
While copper wire theft is a nationwide issue, Colorado has fallen victim to the act fairly recently. As reported by Denver7, individuals allegedly stole 14 feet of copper wire from the Regional Transportation District’s G Line in Denver. As a result, service was disrupted for about five hours, and buses were deployed to transport the G Line riders, who experienced 15-minute delays.
The outlet also reported that 31 copper wire thefts were reported in 2025. A year before, 47 thefts occurred, which, according to RTD Public Communications Senior Specialist Tara Broghammer, is explained by an increasing demand for copper.
“[It] has created a market for thieves to target critical infrastructure around the world,” Broghammer said. “In the U.S. and Canada, multiple transit agencies have also recently reported an increase in copper wire thefts, resulting in service disruptions.”