Hungry SC thieves hit phone lines, vacant homes

SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- South Carolina thieves looking for copper wire and anything else they can sell are climbing telephone poles and hitting new homes still under construction.

The Greenville News reports that Spartanburg County deputies are looking for crooks who sliced about 400 feet of cable and telephone lines from poles 35 feet off the ground. Deputies say Chesnee residents reported losing service sometime in the pre-dawn hours Friday.

WIS-TV reports that thieves in Richland County targeting homes still under construction are taking everything from newly installed appliances to the wiring behind walls.

Richland County Sheriff’s investigator Scott Blair says the refrigerators, air conditioners, washer and dryers are being sold on social media websites. Blair says construction crews should mark the wire and log the serial numbers on appliances.