Copper wire thieves hit Tacoma church three times

PIERCE COUNTY, Wash. — Snipped electrical wire sticks out of almost every light pole at Champions Centre church in Tacoma.

Pastor Nichole Moore said someone has stolen from their campus at least three times. The thieves stripped nearly all their copper wire.

“I’d love to know why. I think any person, human being, would want to know why you’re doing this,” said Moore.

The thieves first struck three weeks ago.

“We heard one method was someone was actually tying wire to a motorcycle and ripping it out that way,” said Dave Yadon, Champions Centre corporate secretary.

The thieves then came back again and again, stealing more and more copper wire, and taking out light by light.

“Now, when you drive by here at night, it is a black zone over here. It’s just dark,” said Yadon.

The lack of light at night is creating a problem for the congregation.

“It’s extremely disruptive. We do events at nighttime and, so, security is a big thing for us, so we’ve had to go out and rent lights and do things so people who come to our campus feel safe at night,” said Yadon.

Yadon said the owner of a shopping plaza on the corner of Portland and East 72nd Street had the same thing happen. Someone stripped copper wire from shops, like Payless and Starbucks.

"I would encourage them to stop. I would encourage them to recognize that, while you may be in pursuit of something you gain, there's another loss on the other side of that," said Moore.

Church members had a meeting with their insurance company Thursday to discuss repairing the lights. They said the replacement wire used to fix the lights will be wire that’s not as valuable to thieves.

Below is previous and recent coverage of where copper wire thieves have struck in Western Washington:
>> Copper wire thieves hit Federal Way stadium, parks

>> Copper wire thieves hit Edmonds Stadium

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