2 Florida Men Accused Of Stealing Enormous Power Pole After Irma
Police in Jacksonville, Florida, have arrested two men for allegedly trying to steal a gigantic power pole in the wake of Hurricane Irma.
Blake Lee Waller, 42, and Victor Walter Apeler, 46, each now face a charge of grand theft after they were reportedly caught strapping the $2,500-worth JEA utility pipe to an SUV on Wednesday, per The Florida Times-Union.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office shared this photograph of the incident on Twitter, and it’s since gone viral.
These two were caught stealing a JEA pole just this morning! Citizens watching out and officers cleaning up = partnership! #Irma #JSO pic.twitter.com/q6VKOvPKuU
— Jax Sheriff's Office (@JSOPIO) September 13, 2017
“Citizens watching out and officers cleaning up = partnership!” the sheriff’s office captioned the snap.
According to Action News Jax, Apeler initially told police he was just moving the downed pole away from traffic. A pawn shop database search revealed he had sold dozens of pieces of scrap metal since January, however.
Both men remain in custody without bond at Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office’s pretrial detention facility. Their first court appearance is scheduled for Thursday.
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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
