A St. Paul man with a record of stealing copper wire from streetlights has avoided prison time for a January incident in the city’s Frogtown neighborhood.

E Xiong, 47, pleaded guilty to felony possession of burglary or theft tools after reaching an agreement with Ramsey County prosecutors last month. Judge Joy Bartscher followed the agreement on May 3, staying a 13-month prison sentence for three years, during which time Xiong will be on supervised probation.

E Xiong (Courtesy of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office)

Xiong was ordered to pay the city of St. Paul $548 in restitution. The amount of restitution is based in part on a person’s ability to pay.

Xiong was arrested around 3 a.m. Jan. 18 after police were called to the 800 block of Sherburne Avenue, just north of University Avenue, on a report of people stealing wire from a streetlight. An officer saw a man riding a bike and tried to stop and question him, but he fled down an alley behind University Avenue, the charges say.

The bicyclist crashed and was identified as Xiong. He said he fled because he was wanted on a Ramsey County felony warrant for theft.

In Xiong’s backpack were wires, copper, a wire cutter, screwdriver and saw blade, the charges say. He said he found the wires, and that he uses the tools to fix his bike.

Officers located five damaged light posts in the area.

Previous cases

At the time of his arrest, Xiong had two open cases involving theft of wires from St. Paul streetlights, court records show. They’ve since been resolved.

In March, Xiong was convicted of gross misdemeanor theft and put on probation for three years after admitting to stealing wires last summer from three streetlights near Lorient Street and University Avenue.

Officers found bundles of wire in Xiong’s pockets. He told an officer he receives between $150 and $200 for scrapping the wire at a local company, the criminal complaint says.

St. Paul Public Works put repair and replacement at $4,000.

As part of an August plea deal, prosecutors agreed to dismiss a second case filed in May 2022. In that one, Xiong and another man were caught by police kneeling next to the base of a light pole with tools near Wheelock Parkway by Lake Phalen, the complaint says.

Growing problem

With prices rising, copper wire has become a more common target over the past year or more, leading to long strings of darkened streetlights throughout the city, especially in and around the city’s parks and river roads.

St. Paul spent $1.2 million last year on repair and replacement due to wire theft and accompanying damage to streetlights and traffic signals, compared with $250,000 in 2019, according to the city.

Two St. Paul legislators are sponsoring bills that would require anyone selling copper metal to have a state-issued license. Construction contractors, people who work in residential trades and other licensed workers would continue to be allowed to sell copper and wouldn’t need a separate license. The bills would still allow residents and businesses to recycle copper materials with scrap metal companies for free.

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