DAD AND SON BONDING—Jerry Sweeney, at left, remains in jail because he hasn’t been able to post a $300,000 bond after being arrested for allegedly stealing transmission lines from a cell site in Hamlet, North Carolina. His son, Jeremy, was also charged with the theft and released on a $2,500 unsecured bond.
Two North Carolina men, a father and son team, are facing criminal charges after being accused of stealing transmission lines from a cell site tower in eastern Richmond County for their copper value.
The Sweeneys cut through the fence to get to this 300-foot guyed tower in an American Tower Corp. compound and removed AT&T’s transmission lines.
According to the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office (RCSO) press statement released on March 4, 2024, deputies responded to a call about the cutting and theft of copper wire on Ponderosa Drive, north of Hamlet, on February 29, 2024.
“Deputies spoke with a representative from AT&T at the tower and observed where the copper wire had been cut and removed from the bottom of the tower, along with damage to the fence where it had been cut to make entry into the property,” authorities said.
Deputies reportedly obtained surveillance video from the area. They identified two men — 45-year-old Jerry Neal Sweeney and 26-year-old Jeremy Wayne Sweeney, both of Hamlet — carrying a toolbox and coming from the dirt road where the 300-foot guyed tower owned by American Tower Corp. is located.
The father-son duo were found at their nearby home on Ponderosa Drive. According to the sheriff’s office, one was outside burning the copper wire, and the other was inside, their statement said
Each man was charged with a felony count of injury to property to obtain nonferrous metals and one misdemeanor count of first-degree trespassing and larceny.
Jeremy Sweeney was released on a $2,500 unsecured bond. He reportedly has not been convicted of any crimes but was charged with underage drinking. Unable to post a $300,000 secured bond, Jerry Sweeny remains in the Richmond County Jail.
Online records show Jerry Sweeney is also facing one count each of conspiring to commit felony larceny, breaking and or entering, larceny after breaking and entering, conspiracy to commit felony larceny, and obtaining property by false pretenses.
Jerry Sweeney was also arrested and sentenced in 2021 for nonferrous metal theft. Before that, he had been found guilty of other charges.
The Sweeneys’ court date is scheduled for May 30, 2024.
North Carolina AT&T multi-tower copper theft man skates with just probation.
Last January, a North Carolina man was arrested and faces 47 charges in Henderson County, as well as eight more charges in Buncombe County. The 36-year-old man had targeted AT&T sites.
Vinnie DePaul was charged with 15 felonies, but his attorney was able to reduce his sentence to a suspended sentence and 18-month probation.
Had DePaul been charged and sentenced for each offense, he could have spent ten or more years behind bars. However, all his charges in multiple counties were consolidated for judgment, and he walked away without a prison sentence.