Santa Paula Police arrested 41-year-old Guadalupe Trinidad Cervantes, an area transient, at the scene, said SPPD Lieutenant Mike Saviers. Police discovered that a warrant was out for Cervantes for being under the influence of a controlled substance, and she was arrested.Saviers said no charges were filed against Cervantes for illegal burning. “We’re not sure if she was the one burning the wire, but that’s the one who was found down there” when SPPD and SPFD personnel arrived at the scene.The theft of materials that can be recycled for cash - often needed for the purchase of methamphetamine - is an issue plaguing Santa Paula and other cities throughout the nation. Burning insulation off of stolen copper wire is a particularly troubling event, as the burning plastic insulation emits toxic fumes and the method of removal can cause a blaze that could turn into a major fire incident.
Burning insulation off copper wire leads to unrelated arrest
April 25, 2008
Santa Paula News
A woman found at the scene of a fire used to burn the insulation off of copper wire was arrested early Thursday morning for an unrelated matter in an incident that drew the attention of both the Santa Paula Fire and Police Departments.
By Peggy KellySanta Paula TimesA woman found at the scene of a fire used to burn the insulation off of copper wire was arrested early Thursday morning for an unrelated matter in an incident that drew the attention of both the Santa Paula Fire and Police Departments.SPFD Station 1 received the report of a fire in the bed of the Santa Clara River on April 24 about 4:38 a.m., according to Captain Dustin Lazenby. Firefighters responded to the area of East Harvard Boulevard and South 12th Street, “I imagine by the 12th Street Bridge,” noted Captain Lazenby, where it was found that the fire resulted from an attempt to burn the plastic insulation off of coils of copper wire to “sell it as recyclables... I assume the fire itself was the wire and that was all,” as firefighters were released from the scene at 5:10 a.m.
