Residents are frightened as blocks of residential streets are left in total darkness as copper thieves continue targeting street lamps in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles.
Neighbors say the thieves are targeting voltage boxes and stealing as much copper wire as they can.
“When somebody is lifting up the covers, there are high-voltage coppers and they’re cutting all the wires,” a neighbor tells KTLA’s Rick Chambers.
A security camera in the neighborhood recently caught a male suspect in the act. As the wires are cut, entire streets are left in pitch darkness.
“It leaves everything dark, about two streets up and down,” said Julie Pascal, a resident.
“When I go for a walk at night, you don’t want to trip and fall,” said John Fleck, a neighbor. “We also don’t want to be robbed. There are no lights anymore.”
Some neighbors said not only is it a safety hazard, but it creates a prime opportunity for burglars who want easy cover.
“All of the lights are out and it’s pitch dark at night,” said resident Barbara Wright. “It scares me. I’m afraid to go out. [My neighbor] was robbed across the street not too long ago so that’s frightening.”
“We’ve had break-ins in our cars and now we don’t have any lights so we’re more fearful of what might happen at night,” said Sarah Yun.
Fleck and Randy Laborde have been passing out flyers in the area, calling attention to the many safety issues of darkened streets.
Despite complaints to city leaders, they claim nothing is being done to prevent the continued thefts.
In a statement to KTLA, Councilmember Nithya Raman, who represents the area, said she is aware of the issue and is working closely to ensure the lights are repaired as quickly as possible to ensure the neighborhood is safe while the lights are out.
“To give us a timeline of anywhere from two months to a year?” said Laborde. “That seems rather long. I don’t understand why they can’t just come repair it now.”
“If I’m paying $28,000 as half of my yearly property tax bill, can I have some lights, please? said neighbor Ryan Supple.
As residents wait for the impending repairs, many have installed motion detectors outside their homes to hopefully catch or deter any lurking thieves.
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