Pensacola Police arrested two people Thursday for allegedly stripping local light poles of roughly $250,000 worth of copper since September 2025.
Officers arrested 37-year-old David Nielsen for charges of copper theft from utility poles and felony criminal mischief and 31-year-old Rae Ann Horne for charges of dealing in stolen property.
They allegedly stole nearly 100,000 feet of copper from the light poles on bridges and along the interstate. Horne is accused of taking the copper to scrap yards to sell it.
“Motorists who frequently travel the Barrancas bridge over Bayou Chico at night may have noticed the lights not functioning for months, and the theft of the wiring from the bridge is the reason the lights were out,” a June 25 Pensacola Police Department press release said.
When officers traveled to a boat Nielsen owned to execute the search warrants, Nielsen jumped into Bayou Chico and had to be apprehended by Florida Fish and Wildlife along with the PPD SWAT team. The PPD said Horne did not resist.
Both of Nielsen’s charges, according to jail records, are felonies and carry a maximum of 35 years in prison. Horne’s charge is also a felony, punishable up to 15 years in prison.
The PPD said additional arrests are forthcoming.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Two arrested for stealing $250K worth of copper from Pensacola area light poles
Reporting by Benjamin Johnson, Pensacola News Journal / Pensacola News Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Benjamin Johnson, Pensacola News Journal | USA TODAY Network
