SacRT Gold Line service disrupted by another copper wire theft, suspect arrested

For the second time in a week, Sacramento's light rail service was disrupted due to a copper wire theft vandalism incident.

Wednesday morning, SacRT alerted riders that a bus bridge was in place along the Gold Line between Sunrise and Historic Folsom due to vandalism. Service was restored shortly before 3 p.m.

Officials have since confirmed that the vandalism was from copper theft.

A similar incident happened Monday morning that also affected the Gold Line. That day, officials found damage from copper wire theft near the 39th Street station and 51st Street crossing.

Shortly before 4 p.m. on Wednesday, the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office confirmed an arrest was made. Jesse Jeremiah, 51, was found near the tracks with a wagon investigators said was tied to these copper thefts.

"Inside the wagon, Deputies found 18 large strands of copper wire belonging to Regional Transit and multiple burglary tools used in these thefts," the sheriff's office said in a statement.

Further investigation led deputies to Jeremiah's storage unit, which contained additional copper wire, identifiable clothing and a metal cart, officials said.

Deputies also obtained surveillance footage, which they said "further linked these items to additional copper theft cases." At least one of those incidents caused around $73,000 in damage, officials said.

Jeremiah was booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail and is ineligible for bail. Investigators say he has a lengthy criminal history and could be responsible for other unreported thefts. Anyone with information is asked to contact the sheriff's office.

SacRT officials have said that these copper wire theft incidents have been an increasing problem for public transit agencies in recent years.