Memphis Man Arrested In $100K Copper Theft

Memphis police arrested a man this week, they say, who stripped roughly $100,000 worth of copper from city-owned infrastructure, capping a run that allegedly stretched from a downtown fire station to a tower serving local police precincts. Officials identified the suspect as Johnny Daugherty, who now faces multiple charges tied to what authorities say is part of a stubborn metal-theft problem in the city.

According to Action News 5, investigators say the case started at a fire station on South Third Street, where the suspect allegedly shut off the main circuit breakers and the tower-light circuit breakers but could not get past safety measures at the electric meter. Police told the station that Daugherty later went to a different tower that serves the Raines and Airways precincts, got through a locked fence, and removed an estimated $100,000 in copper. Officers then booked him on charges that include critical infrastructure vandalism, attempted vandalism, theft of property, and criminal trespassing.

Why copper theft matters in Memphis

Local officials say copper theft is more than a line item in the city budget. Cutting or removing wiring can knock out lights, radio equipment, and other critical systems, all while leaving crews to clean up the mess and shoulder expensive repairs. Previous reporting on a months-long uptick in metal thefts documented warnings from the Memphis Police Department and utilities, and the department’s own news pages list multiple theft-of-scrap-metal advisories that sketch out the same pattern.

Charges and legal exposure

Police say Daugherty is charged with critical infrastructure vandalism, attempted vandalism, theft of property, and criminal trespassing. Those counts can carry felony penalties when the value of the stolen property is high. Tennessee’s theft statute and grading rules, set out in Tennessee Code Annotated §39-14-103 and related sections, increase penalties as the value of the stolen property rises, according to the Tennessee Code.

It was not immediately clear whether the alleged thefts caused prolonged outages or other operational issues. Police say the investigation is ongoing and the case will move through Shelby County courts. City and utility officials did not immediately offer more details beyond what has already been released to local media.