Pineville men allegedly stole rolls of telephone wire

BELL COUNTY, Ky. (FOX 56) — Two Pineville men were arrested in the Brownies Creek community on Friday morning after deputies allegedly saw them leave an abandoned house with rolls of telephone line wire.

According to the Bell County Sheriff’s Office, deputies saw “a suspicious vehicle” leave an abandoned house near KY-987. Noticing that the vehicle’s license plate was hidden by a plastic bag, they pulled the car over.

Authorities wrote on Facebook that 51-year-old Timothy Richardson of Pineville, a passenger in the car, was sweating and out of breath, with a flashlight on his head.

“Upon checking the back seat for other occupants, Deputy Owens saw cut phone wire in plan view,” the sheriff’s office wrote. After finding the wire, Richardson and 53-year-old Tommy Lewis were arrested and charged with first-degree criminal mischief—tampering with or in possession of key infrastructure assets, and possession of burglary tools. Lewis, the driver of the vehicle, was additionally charged with improper display of registration plates.

Lewis and Richardson were both lodged in the Bell County Detention Center. The telephone line investigation remains ongoing.