Matt Wilson and Candice Logan were charged with transporting stolen copper across state lines. They cut a guy wire and collapsed a 500-foot guyed tower to allow them to easily strip the transmission lines. They pleaded guilty and face up to 10 years in prison.
Two Choctaw County, OK residents who toppled a 500-foot broadcast tower in Hugo, OK in a brazen copper theft scheme last year have pleaded guilty in federal court, nearly 15 months after the incident cut off a local radio station and triggered a multi-agency investigation.
Candice Marie Logan, 34, and Matthew Wilson, 37, pleaded guilty with identical pleas to Interstate Transportation of Stolen Property in the Eastern District of Oklahoma. The charges stem from the theft and sale of copper coaxial cable stripped from the downed broadcast tower belonging to KITX 95.5, operated by Payne Media Group.
A tower toppled for scrap
The January 16, 2024 crime shocked the wireless infrastructure and broadcasting industries. Instead of scaling the tower, the suspects cut a guy wire, causing the 500-foot structure to collapse — a method rarely seen in copper thefts. Investigators say the duo transported the stolen copper from Hugo to Paris, TX, where it was to be sold as scrap.
KITX owner Will Payne estimated the total damage, including the tower, generator, and other equipment, to be $500,000.
“We’re hunting down somebody that brought down a tower in order to get a little hundred-dollar fix of copper,” Payne said while surveying the damage last year. “Seriously, that’s about all it’s going to be worth to them. Let’s make them pay,” Payne said.
Arrests came quickly
Just two days after the collapse, authorities arrested Logan and Wilson following leads from a confidential informant and coordinated efforts by the Hugo and Paris Police Departments. They were initially charged with theft and vandalism.
Choctaw County Sheriff Terry Park posted an unfiltered reaction to the arrests:
“We’ve got to go back to sending all these crackheads to prison for a long, long time. Bury these worthless thieves in prison.”
Park also warned recyclers and the public to watch for stolen coaxial cable:
“Most likely, it’s not supposed to be there. Be on the lookout… and hold copper recycling companies accountable.”
Plea agreement details
In plea agreements signed and filed in federal court, both Logan and Wilson admitted guilt and acknowledged they knowingly transported stolen property across state lines. The copper, valued at $45,067, was identified as property of KITX.
The plea agreements include:
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A potential maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison
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Up to $250,000 in fines
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Mandatory restitution
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Forfeiture of assets linked to the crime
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Waiver of appeal and post-conviction rights
The Department of Justice confirmed that both defendants cooperated and accepted responsibility. Sentencing dates have not yet been announced.
Rare but devastating crime
Wireless Estimator notes that this was only the second known instance in the U.S. where a broadcast tower was intentionally felled for the purpose of stealing copper. The first occurred in 2008 in Tracy City, TN, when a 360-foot guyed tower was brought down in a similar manner.
The sabotage of the KITX tower not only left a local station off the air but became a national example of infrastructure vulnerability in rural America. It also marked a shift in the tactics of copper thieves — from scaling towers to simply taking them down.
As the legal system moves toward sentencing, Payne and others in the broadcast industry hope the outcome sends a clear signal.
“Let’s make them pay,” Payne said. “This was more than theft. It was destruction.”
