Richmond police arrest man in $300,000 fiber cable damage case

A Richmond police drone helped officers track down a man accused of cutting underground fiber-optic cable, damage that Xfinity estimates will cost up to $300,000 to repair.

Officers were dispatched to Florida Avenue and South 23rd Street at 3:40 p.m. Saturday after a report of an unwanted person. Before they arrived, the department’s Drone First Responder spotted the man cutting utility wires, police said. The drone then guided officers to him.

Police arrested Noel Ramirez-Rodriguez, 33, of Richmond, on suspicion of felony vandalism and damaging a utility line. Police said he had removed a manhole cover to reach the wiring.

Lt. Joe England, the department's chief of staff and public information officer, said officers contacted utility companies to identify the damaged line.

"Officers got a hold of all utility companies and learned the suspect vandalized actual fiber optic wiring that was owned by Xfinity," England wrote in an email. "Xfinity estimated the cost to repair the damaged fiber optic lines to be between $200,000 and $300,000."

Ramirez-Rodriguez was booked into the Richmond Police Department jail. The case has been sent to the Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office for a charging decision.

England said police continue to see an uptick in copper theft, utility line theft and vandalism across the city.

"Most recently, suspects went to various areas of the port and vandalized/stole copper wiring," England wrote. "This included copper wiring used to charge tugboats (shore power).

Our detectives are looking into this latest arrest to see if this suspect had any involvement with this other copper theft and others that have occurred in the city recently."

In August 2024, a 28-year-old man died after being electrocuted in a PG&E vault at South Second Street and Cutting Boulevard. Police at the time suspected he was trying to steal copper wire.