Three suspects accused of being behind an eight-month utility line theft ring have been apprehended by county deputies after a lengthy investigation.
Thomas Blackwell, Marshall Fox and Christina Grossie have been charged with possession of stolen property and possession of crystal methamphetamine. Simon Stubblefield, with the Yazoo County Sheriff’s Department, said more utility theft charges are pending from AT&T as well.
The trio are from Florence and were arrested by Stubblefield about 2:30 a.m. last Thursday on Highway 433 near Bentonia Gibbs Elementary School.
“I pulled up on the suspects cutting about 700 feet of wire,” Stubblefield said. “When I approached their vehicle, I noticed the driver (Blackwell) of the vehicle throwing something out of his window. Upon investigation, crystal methamphetamine and AT&T wire were discovered. The wire was still inside their vehicle.”
Stubblefield said the investigation places the three suspects behind over 3,000 feet of utility wire theft spanning back about eight months ago.
“Over a period of about eight months, we have connected them to other wire cutting thefts,” he said. “We finally caught these suspects in the act.”
As of press time, Blackwell and Fox remained at the Yazoo County Regional Correctional Facility. Grossie was released on bond.
