Milwaukee streetlights copper wire stolen, 3 men charged

MILWAUKEE - Prosecutors have charged three men in connection to the theft of roughly $10,000 worth of copper wire from Milwaukee's streetlight circuit system.

Streetlight damage

Big picture view:

On Monday, Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson said the city has experienced nearly 250 thefts, costing the city more than $830,000, to date. Department of Public Works commissioner Jerrel Kurschke said those thefts have taken place over roughly the past two years.

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"This is not a victimless crime. It costs the city of Milwaukee money," Johnson said. "The greatest cost is the impact these thefts have on our residents and neighborhoods across the city, because when streetlights are out our neighbors are left in the dark."

Kruschke said, in August alone, 77 of the roughly 150 circuit outages DPW responded to were related to theft. 

"That stress, basically, is doubling the amount of work our electricians have to do to repair," Kruschke said. "We're taking our efforts away from upgrading circuits that are needed across our city and going toward theft, which is extremely labor-intensive."

Charges filed

In court:

The Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office charged 51-year-old Alvin Harris, 57-year-old Daryll Horton and 55-year-old Mario Gill with multiple felonies in separate cases.

Harris is charged with fleeing police, two counts of conspiracy to commit criminal damage to property, two counts of conspiracy to commit theft, and possession with intent to deliver cocaine. Horton is charged with three counts of criminal damage to property and two counts of felony bail jumping. Gill is charged with criminal damage to property and theft.

Copper wire thefts

The backstory:

According to a criminal complaint, the Milwaukee Police Department's Major Crimes Unit began investigating a string of copper wire thefts targeting the city's streetlights in September 2026. The suspects would open ground vault junction boxes to access underground cables and access panels at the base of the light poles to reach the wire inside.

Court filings indicate Harris was involved in two copper wire thefts, Horton was involved in three and Gill was involved in one. 

Timeline:

Court filings revealed details about five different copper wire thefts that happened across Milwaukee from mid-August to mid-October.

15th and Atkinson | Aug. 14, 2026

Police spoke with a Milwaukee Department of Public Works employee who said he and his coworkers went to the area of 13th and Albert, where someone had previously stolen approximately 3,300 square feet of copper wire. When the DPW employees got there, they noticed a power outage and drove south on 13th Street to Atkinson Avenue, where they spotted a man pulling wire from the ground along Atkinson Avenue, 15th and 16th streets, according to the complaint. 

Court filings said the employees saw the suspect smash the remaining wire with a brick to cut it, and tuck it under his arm before running away. Approximately 2.5 reels of wire were stolen at an estimated cost of $1,020.

Officers then relocated to the area of 14th and Wilbur, where they spotted a white SUV that sped off upon seeing police. After seeing an item tossed from the SUV, police recovered two garbage bins full of wire insulation and multiple piles on the ground.

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66th and Custer | Sept. 9, 2026

The complaint said someone reported seeing a black SUV parked outside and a man kneeling on the ground digging at something. The caller also reported seeing sparks erupting from the ground before two men climbed into the vehicle and sped away.

When police arrived, they saw open junction boxes. All the boxes had damage to them and missing copper wire. There were non-functioning streetlights at the following locations: 

• 4 poles in the parking lot of N 66th St. and W. Custer
• 5 poles in the parking lot of 5410 N. 68th St.
• 3 poles in the alley behind 5408 N. 67th St.
• 5 poles on W. Birch St.
• 4 poles on N. 67th St.
• 4 poles on W. Custer St.

Shortly after responding to the call near 66th and Custer, police spotted a dark Chevrolet SUV with a broken front windshield leaving the area with two men inside. Police tried to pull the Chevrolet over, but the driver ignored the officers and continued traveling at 37 mph, running several stop signs during the pursuit. The pursuit was called off near 64th and Lancaster. However, officers had a clear view of the driver at the start of the chase and identified him as Harris.

Teutonia and Ring | Oct. 1, 2026

Police were called for "trouble with a subject" and, when they got there, spoke with a caller who said he saw a man stealing copper wire from a City of Milwaukee underground electrical vault. The caller provided video surveillance of the incident.

Surveillance footage showed a man approaching the location before a blue Chevrolet Tahoe pulled up beside the spot where the suspect had tampered with a junction box ground cover. According to the complaint, the Tahoe matched the description of the vehicle that fled police on Sept. 9. Detectives observed the driver’s face clearly during this video and were able to identify him as Harris. The other suspect was identified as Horton. 

A City of Milwaukee electrician determined four underground electrical vaults had been tampered with, and copper wire was missing from one of them. One thousand feet of wire, valued at $4,150, was taken. The damage disrupted electrical service for days.

Teutonia and Ring | Oct. 10, 2026

Milwaukee police were called again after someone said they saw the same person who was seen stealing copper wire. Officers arrived and saw a suspect, later identified as Horton, walking away with a large amount of wire on his right shoulder. The complaint said Horton had approximately 750 feet of wire valued at approximately $3,112.50. A city electrical services manager said another 120 feet of cable worth $474 was taken. Police arrested Horton at the scene. 

Teutonia and Nash | Oct. 13, 2026

Detectives were investigating recent copper wire thefts when they spotted a blue Chevrolet Tahoe. The driver got out, walked north on Teutonia Avenue and met with several other people near a black Nissan Altima. Court filings said detectives saw the subjects tampering with a ground vault junction box that houses streetlight wires. The Nissan turned on Nash Street with its hazard lights fishing and, as the Nissan passed the detectives, the detectives saw the car pulling a large section of black insulated wire – estimated at 100–150 feet long.

Police tracked the Nissan to an alley near 15th and Nash and conducted a traffic stop. Officers saw a suspect, who matched the description of the Chevrolet driver, run away. The driver of the Nissan, identified as Gill, was arrested with wire cutters, a wrench, a screwdriver and a metal pipe on his person. Officers searched the car and found receipts from a scrapyard with Gill's name on them, as well as a "large amount" of copper wire that belonged to the Milwaukee DPW.

Officers and detectives went back to the location of the initial call and saw eight ground vault junction boxes with missing bolts. Those boxes had been entered and the wires were either stolen or cut. They also saw four light poles with access panels damaged, removed and the internal wiring cut. In the alley, between 14th and 15th streets, officers saw cut wire debris such as cut plugs, wire scraps and wire insulation. Several garbage cans in the alley had large amounts of wire insulation. 

Several DPW employees got there to make sure the streetlight wiring was safe. They said several circuits had been interrupted by the wires being cut, and they were going to have to power down the circuits to make sure the cut wires would be powered down and safe. DPW employees said there was an estimated 1,000 feet of wire stolen, valued at approximately $2,865 plus the cost of labor.

Defendants in custody

What they're saying:

Court filings said Horton told police he didn't steal any wire, claiming he found it at a cemetery despite surveillance footage showing him actively pulling wire from the ground.

During a later interview, Horton said he "ain't just busting nothing" and it is "already hanging out." He said he didn't know anything about wire, but admitted he needed "a few dollars." He went on to admit he pulled and removed wire occasionally.

The Milwaukee Police Department's Special Investigation Division Fugitive Apprehension Unit arrested Harris near 13th and Atkinson on Oct. 20. A criminal complaint said he had crack cocaine in his pocket. During an interview with police, he admitted he was the blue Chevrolet Tahoe driver, but said he only closed the electrical boxes and denied stealing any copper wire. He admitted he bought copper wire – which he knew was stolen – from two people to then sell to scrapyards. 

During an interview with police, Gill admitted he stole copper wire from streetlights on Oct. 13 and had done so on "at least" 16 prior occasions. He also said the Chevrolet Tahoe driver – who he knows as the "Green Goblin" – helped him steal copper wire on Oct. 13. When shown a photo, Gill identified Harris as the Green Goblin and admitted to working with Harris to steal wire for three or four weeks.

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