Man Driving BMW Charged in Copper Thefts

A man seen driving his BMW X5 near Anne Arundel County cell towers last week has been charged with stealing copper from the towers and selling it.

Authorities say there has been a recent increase in the theft of grounding equipment from cell tower sites throughout Anne Arundel County. Detectives saw Adam Romeo, 22, of Pasadena early on Oct. 17 when his BMW was parked on the shoulder of Chestnut Cove Drive in Pasadena.

Anne Arundel County Police say Romeo left the area and went to a recycling business, to which he sold copper grounding bars. A cell tower adjacent to the site where Romeo parked his BMW was found to have missing grounding bars, which police say were sold by Romeo to the recycling business.

The next morning detectives saw Romeo at a cell tower in the area of WB&A Road in Hanover. He left the site and drove to another tower in the area of Energy Park Court in Pasadena. Officers saw Romeo and another suspect stripping wire in the tower’s driveway. When asked what they were doing on the property, Romeo initially told police he was working on the tower, then said the wire and copper grounding bar had been given to him by a previous employer.

Police say the metals were taken from inside a locked fence at the cell tower location in Hanover.

Anyone with information regarding the theft of grounding equipment from tower sites is asked to call 410-222-6003.

Romeo was charged with fourth-degree burglary and two counts of theft over $1,000.

The Anne Arundel County Police Department encourages citizens to contact police when they observe suspicious activity in an around cell site locations. These thefts often create a dangerous and hazardous environment. Metal thefts of grounding equipment, air conditioning equipment, catalytic converters, wiring, copper pipes and batteries to name a few often occur during daytime hours in plain sight of others.