By Vick A. Lombardo
Senior Director, Corporate Physical Security, Southeast and Texas–Louisiana Regions, Charter Communications, &
Jennifer Tharp
Criminal District Attorney in Comal County
At 5:33 a.m. on June 23, 2025, multiple emergency field technicians (techs) from Charter Communications rushed to Waxahachie. They were responding to an internet outage that affected more than 10,000 residential customers and almost 100 businesses, including commercial, government, and emergency-related entities. At the same time, similar communication lines for AT&T were cut in the same area, disrupting most of Waxahachie’s internet customers. When techs arrived, they found severed lines and a cutting tool abandoned nearby. This critical infrastructure assault (abbreviated CIA) left the community without service until almost 9 p.m.
This incident in Waxahachie is just one example of what occurs across the country on a weekly basis, disrupting 911 services at police dispatch facilities, cutting access to investigative files and research functions at police departments, and removing hospital staffs’ abilities to read patients’ medical files—when delays can be a life-threatening situation. All these functions require a reliable internet connection.
The repair process was so lengthy because techs had to individually splice more than 244 separate fiberglass strands, each no thicker than a sewing needle. (See the photo at right.) And why? Criminals—often copper thieves—strip the plastic sheathing and insulation from communication cables for a relatively small amount of scrap metal to sell at recycling centers.
To understand why this crime is growing so rapidly, one must understand the exponential growth in the price of copper. In October 2020, copper was $3.05 a pound; by late July 2025, it hit a high of $5.79 per pound, a 93-percent increase. As of mid-October 2025, copper remains at $5 a pound, lucrative for metal thieves looking for a simple theft to commit, resulting in attacks on internet lines, air conditioning units, and other copper-related utility assets. Meanwhile, the community pays the price: severed phone and internet lines. Students, families, businesses, and services grind to a standstill.
After contacting law enforcement, Charter and AT&T learned that the Ellis County Sheriff’s Office was pursuing an organized copper theft group in the Waxahachie area, where multiple arrests had already occurred. Other thefts were still under investigation.
CIAs are common in Texas
Texas is a great place to live and lead, but unfortunately, we also lead in CIAs. In fact, Texas ranks No. 2 among all states in critical infrastructure attacks—and by a wide margin.
We must educate law enforcement on the realities of these crimes, which often unfold in broad daylight. Criminals in unmarked trucks or vans don hard hats and utility vests and use safety cones to pose as legitimate communication techs. They cut the lines, searching for copper, and either leave them if none is found, or they haul away the lines, as much as possible, to later burn the sheathing off and sell the valuable metal inside.
When law enforcement officers know what to look for, they can contact telecom providers to verify whether seized materials belong to AT&T, Verizon, Charter Communications, or other telecommunications (telecom) entities. This confirmation provides law enforcement with probable cause for detention, evidence collection, and charges. The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) also plays a key role. DPS evaluates the eligibility of metal recycling entity (MRE) applicants and issues licenses. DPS also oversees transaction records and conducts routine inspections to ensure compliance with Texas laws. When suspicious regulated metals, such as copper, are identified, DPS investigators verify the date of purchase, review photos and/or video of the purchase, and review records to identify the seller. A key to identifying criminals is having the ability to compare sales transactions, by geographic area and time, to the time and place of CIAs, along with any video evidence collected in the vicinity.
Identifying a large portion of this criminal activity is made possible through the Texas Online Metals (TOM) system. TOM is the electronic statewide database where MREs are required to report all regulated transactions, to include the seller’s driver’s license or official government photo identification, vehicle information, and pictures of the vehicle utilized to drop off the “scrap” copper and its license plates. For those unfamiliar with TOM records, they are similar to Leads Online, an online database for pawn shops used by law enforcement to quickly search, identify, and recover stolen items. Comparing TOM records to evidence collected at various sites where fibers have been cut has led to numerous arrests and will greatly assist both law enforcement and prosecution efforts.
Deterring future CIAs
Until recently, CIAs were often charged as misdemeanor-level criminal mischief based on damage estimates. That changed with Senate Bill 1646, which amends Penal Code §28.03 (Criminal Mischief). It adds subsection (l), which provides a third-degree felony where the actor damages or destroys:
(a) copper or brass components of a critical infrastructure facility or
(b) equipment or communication wires appurtenant to or connected to a copper or brass component of the facility or on which the facility depends to properly function, regardless of whether the equipment or communication wires are enclosed by a fence or other barrier, and the damage or destruction causes, wholly or partly, the impairment or interruption of the facility, equipment, or communication wires.
Key to this additional manner and means of committing criminal mischief is the new definition of “critical infrastructure facility,” which can be found in Penal Code §31.01(15). Additionally, the damage or destruction is to either copper or brass or equipment or communication wires connected to CIAs. Why does this matter? Well, some CIAs are fiber and there are no copper or brass components, but this change still allows charging and prosecution under the expanded criminal mischief statute.
SB 1646 also created a new offense: Unauthorized Possession of Certain Brass or Copper Material (Penal Code §31.22). Under this provision, a person commits an offense if he intentionally or knowingly possesses copper or brass material, and he is not an authorized person. This section lays out nine types of authorized persons (plus their agents, which makes 10 types of authorized persons), including the owner of the material, a public utility or telecommunications provider, and a cable service provider. Anyone who has had success investigating or prosecuting a case under Penal Code §31.21 (Unauthorized Possession of Catalytic Converter) will quickly recognize the similarities between that 2023 law and this new one, which is designed to work in a similar manner.
Key evidence for prosecution under this statute will be the investigative evidence showing that the person was not just in possession of the material but also is not one of 10 allowable possessors. SB 1646 also provides enhanced punishment ranges for Theft (see Penal Code §31.03(f-2)) and is now included as an underlying offense under Penal Code §71.02 (Engaging in Organized Criminal Activity).
SB 1646 took effect September 1, 2025, giving prosecutors new tools to pursue these cases aggressively.
Partnering with prosecutors
Telecommunication entities and infrastructure providers can greatly assist prosecution efforts by providing:
1) detailed outage records: specific internet cut details, including exactly where and at what time these criminal activities occur. Our Regional Operation Centers (ROCs) are constantly monitoring internet and communication lines. With such records, law enforcement can quickly gather video surveillance and license plate recognition (LPR) records along the CIA egress routes, producing potential subject vehicle identifications, as well as possible facial recognition of subjects.
2) equipment reference guides, including infrastructure equipment description pamphlets, which reflect the photos and descriptions of all our infrastructure lines, so law enforcement can confirm the internet cable or lines in a given person’s possession can be identified and whether that subject is not an authorized person. With such intelligence, potential subjects can be more easily detained for probable cause interviews.
3) expert testimony from telecommunications experts, as needed, who can verify that suspects are not authorized personnel regarding such telecommunications lines and equipment.
4) educational PSAs (public service announcements): videos for citizens, law enforcement and prosecutors to raise awareness and encourage reporting of CIAs as they occur, as well as provide identification of subjects and their vehicles.
5) direct points of contact: on-call telecommunications representatives to support law enforcement investigations by answering questions and concerns regarding the validity of various arguments by non-authorized persons as needed.
6) on-site evidence: CIA photos upon arrival, as telecommunications repair staff are instructed to immediately take close-up, medium-distance, and far-away pictures of any potential evidence left behind, while protecting any potential evidence until law enforcement can recover it.
By equipping staff and strengthening collaboration, telecom providers can supply the initial evidence and investigative leads needed to secure convictions.
Moving Texas forward
CIAs are escalating, and their effects ripple across daily life, cutting off communication, commerce, and public safety. By educating law enforcement, leveraging TOM, and applying SB 1646, Texas can shift from being one of the hardest-hit states to one of the most aggressive in prosecuting crimes. Together, law enforcement, prosecutors, and telecom providers can turn the tide: protecting communities, restoring trust, and making Texas a national leader not in CIAs, but in convictions.