Power Lines Cut At SMC Homes Leaving Extensive Damage, Suspect Arrested: Police

SAN MATEO, CA — A man accused of cutting power and other wires at multiple locations in a San Mateo neighborhood was arrested Monday night after police said officers caught him trying to conceal a pair of wire cutters, authorities said.

San Mateo police responded around 8:16 p.m. on Monday to the 100 block of 29th Avenue after receiving a report of a suspicious person involved in vandalism.

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Investigators reviewed photos and video that showed a man cutting multiple power lines in front of a home, police said.

Officers located a suspect, later identified as Alfredo Salas, 30, of Daly City. As officers approached, Salas tried to hide a pair of wire cutters beneath a water meter cover, according to police.

Officers recovered the cutters and found additional wires had been severed inside the water meter, police said.

As the investigation continued, police received reports of cut wires at several other locations in the area. Authorities described the resulting damage as extensive but did not provide a dollar estimate or say how many properties were affected.

Police said Salas had no apparent prior connection to the locations that were targeted.

He was arrested and booked into the San Mateo County Jail on suspicion of felony vandalism and concealing or destroying evidence, police said.