Two Porter County Men charged with Theft of AT&T phone and internet wire in Gary
On April 7, 2025, the Gary Police Department was dispatched to the 1500 block of Cleveland Street for a male subject that had been observed on a Nipsco pole cutting electrical wires down with yellow lawn cutters and red bolt cutters. The reporting party noticed that the subject almost fell from the pole, which prompted them to call 911.
According to court documents, the responding GPD officer approached the alley and observed a male subject, identified as Chad Edmonds, climbing down a ladder with wire cutters. Edmonds then picked up a black wireline that was hanging over a fence. The wire had an AT&T phone number on it. When Edmonds stated he works for Xfinity, the officer ordered Edmonds to put the wire down. The Officer noticed a dark SUV in the alley, which Edmonds indicated was his work vehicle. When the officer informed Edmonds that the SUV was a personal vehicle and asked why he was cutting wire down, Edmonds admitted that “they were scrapping.” While the officer was placing Edmonds under arrest, the SUV fled from the alley. When questioned who was inside the SUV, Edmonds replied “Jason Napier.”
According to court documents, another GPD officer was informed of the above incident. The officer had prior knowledge of Napier, as he was a suspect in a copper wire theft. A license plate reader captured Napier’s SUV, with a metal ladder on top, heading NB at W 25th and Grant Street. The Officer contacted Portage Police and requested assistance. Portage PD informed Gary PD that they had conducted a traffic stop on Napier’s SUV and that Napier had been detained. At this point, GPD took Napier into custody.
According to court documents, the police located multiple copper wires in the vehicle, which were of the same type that Chad Edmonds was cutting down earlier.
An employee with AT&T estimated the damage to be about $3,000, and that the cutting of the wire affects all homes in that city block. It was also noted that, over the past couple years, there have been hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage to AT&T cable wires in the City of Gary, and hundreds of homes have been without telephone and internet when the damage occurred.
According to court documents, a computerized check of the criminal history and court records of Chad W. Edmonds revealed that, on June 4, 2024, he was convicted of burglary in Porter County, and Jason D. Napier was convicted of Theft in Porter County on November 13, 2017.
Napier and Edmonds are both currently lodged in the Lake County Jail.
On April 8, 2025, Jason D. Napier and Chad W. Edmonds were charged with:
Theft: F5 Felony
Theft: F6 Felony
Criminal Mischief Damage: F6 Felony
RNS has also learned that both Edmonds and Napier are currently on probation in Porter County.
An arrest and criminal charges are accusations only. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
