By Khalida Sarwari
Mountain View police are investigating the theft of copper wire from the parking lot of the Shoreline Amphitheatre over the weekend.
On Monday morning, a groundskeeper called police after discovering a vandalized electrical junction box at the base of a light pole in the parking lot, Mountain View police spokeswoman Liz Wylie said.
Police responded and found that nearly all of the 21 junction boxes at the bases of the light poles in the parking lot were damaged, Wylie said. Copper wire had been removed from the boxes.
She said the theft appears to have occurred sometime between Friday night and Monday morning.
Copper wire theft increases when the metal’s value rises, Wylie said. The current going rate for copper is $2.95 per pound, she said.
Wylie estimated the value of the stolen wiring at about $1,000 and said repairing the lighting system would cost an additional $30,000.
A spokesman for Shoreline Amphitheatre was not immediately available for comment.
Anyone with information about the theft is asked to call Mountain View police at (650) 903-6344.