ST. CLAIR TWP. -- A 22-year-old Hamilton man was electrocuted on a utility pole early Monday while trying to steal copper wiring, police said.
The Butler County Sheriff’s office identified the man as Brandon Reed. He was attempting to remove copper wiring from the pole when he was hit by the electric current, the sheriff’s office said. His body was discovered 25 feet up a utility pole.
A representative of the Butler County Coroner’s Office pronounced Reed dead at the scene.
“He had spikes like a lineman from the utility company,†Butler County Coroner Dr Richard P. Burkhardt said this morning. “Unfortunately, that was his downfall.â€
Marks on the body seem to indicate that the charge entered his left hand and exited through the sole of his shoe, Burkhardt said.
An autopsy Monday confirmed the cause of death as accidental electrocution.
The sheriff’s office received a 911 call at approximately 2:52 a.m. from a man who said he heard a loud bang and a person scream while driving on U.S. 127, just outside the village of New Miami.
An investigation determined the caller, Josh Snyder, 24, drove Reed to the location and was to return for him once he had retrieved the copper wire, the sheriff’s office said. Snyder was charged with complicity to attempted theft and is in the Butler County jail.
Reed's death is the second in Greater Cincinnati during which the victim was apparently attempting to steal metal, police said.
David Mossman, 25, of the 2200 block of Ferguson Road, died July 12, 2006, when he touched a live wire while attempting to steal sheet metal from a large air conditioning unit at the Western Hills Sports Mall on Ferguson Road in Westwood, Cincinnati police said.
Copper thefts has increased in Greater Cincinnati along with the rise in copper prices.
The web site quotecopper.com today lists the going rate of copper at $3.59 a pound.
Among recent targets: copper piping in homes under construction in Boone County, Ky.; copper lightning rods at a Duke Energy Wayne Township site; and copper wires from cables at Butler County Rural Electric Cooperative’s Ross Township site.
Reed had been convicted of stealing copper wire last year, Hamilton police records show.
Reed was arrested in August on an accusation he stole 2,200 feet of copper wire from utility poles in the 900 block of North Third Street.
His arrest report shows he was found in possession of copper wire and a hacksaw that was used to commit that crime.
After being convicted, Reed was placed on probation for that offense, Hamilton Municipal Court records show.
That court lists 14 cases against Reed, mostly traffic violations.
The most serious allegations against Reed were felony charges of impersonating a peace officer and burglary. Those charges were transferred to the Common Pleas Court and were set for trial Sept. 5.
The charges arose from incidents in February, when Hamilton police arrested Reed on accusations that he used a deputy’s uniform to get into two separate homes in attempts to steal OxyContin, a powerful prescription painkiller.
One attempt was successful; the other failed, police reports say.
The Butler County Sheriff’s office identified the man as Brandon Reed. He was attempting to remove copper wiring from the pole when he was hit by the electric current, the sheriff’s office said. His body was discovered 25 feet up a utility pole.
A representative of the Butler County Coroner’s Office pronounced Reed dead at the scene.
“He had spikes like a lineman from the utility company,†Butler County Coroner Dr Richard P. Burkhardt said this morning. “Unfortunately, that was his downfall.â€
Marks on the body seem to indicate that the charge entered his left hand and exited through the sole of his shoe, Burkhardt said.
An autopsy Monday confirmed the cause of death as accidental electrocution.
The sheriff’s office received a 911 call at approximately 2:52 a.m. from a man who said he heard a loud bang and a person scream while driving on U.S. 127, just outside the village of New Miami.
An investigation determined the caller, Josh Snyder, 24, drove Reed to the location and was to return for him once he had retrieved the copper wire, the sheriff’s office said. Snyder was charged with complicity to attempted theft and is in the Butler County jail.
Reed's death is the second in Greater Cincinnati during which the victim was apparently attempting to steal metal, police said.
David Mossman, 25, of the 2200 block of Ferguson Road, died July 12, 2006, when he touched a live wire while attempting to steal sheet metal from a large air conditioning unit at the Western Hills Sports Mall on Ferguson Road in Westwood, Cincinnati police said.
Copper thefts has increased in Greater Cincinnati along with the rise in copper prices.
The web site quotecopper.com today lists the going rate of copper at $3.59 a pound.
Among recent targets: copper piping in homes under construction in Boone County, Ky.; copper lightning rods at a Duke Energy Wayne Township site; and copper wires from cables at Butler County Rural Electric Cooperative’s Ross Township site.
Reed had been convicted of stealing copper wire last year, Hamilton police records show.
Reed was arrested in August on an accusation he stole 2,200 feet of copper wire from utility poles in the 900 block of North Third Street.
His arrest report shows he was found in possession of copper wire and a hacksaw that was used to commit that crime.
After being convicted, Reed was placed on probation for that offense, Hamilton Municipal Court records show.
That court lists 14 cases against Reed, mostly traffic violations.
The most serious allegations against Reed were felony charges of impersonating a peace officer and burglary. Those charges were transferred to the Common Pleas Court and were set for trial Sept. 5.
The charges arose from incidents in February, when Hamilton police arrested Reed on accusations that he used a deputy’s uniform to get into two separate homes in attempts to steal OxyContin, a powerful prescription painkiller.
One attempt was successful; the other failed, police reports say.