The last of a trio charged with stealing more than 100 pounds of copper wire from St. Paul streetlights in January has been sentenced to probation, as the two others were before him.

August Htoo, 33, of St. Paul, received the sentence Wednesday in Ramsey County District Court after pleading guilty in May to aiding and abetting first-degree criminal damage to property.

As part of a plea deal with the prosecution, Htoo was given a stay of imposition, meaning the felony conviction will become a misdemeanor as long as he follows conditions of two years’ supervised probation. A second charge of possession of burglary or theft tools was dismissed. He had served 171 days in jail after his arrest.

According to the criminal complaint, just before midnight Jan. 25, St. Paul police saw a vehicle in the parking lot of a park near Mississippi River Boulevard and Summit Avenue; the park closed at 11 p.m.

“Police investigated the vehicle given an increase in streetlamp wire thefts in the area involving multiple suspects with lookouts stationed in vehicles in nearby parking lots,” the complaint said.

Police determined the minivan had been involved in a wire theft incident in September.

Nay Thar, 37, of St. Paul, was in the passenger seat, while Htoo and Chastity Lynn Morris, 30, of Minneapolis, were in the back.

An officer saw a crowbar near the center console, tin foil with what appeared to be dark residue and tools “consistent with wire theft” on the floor, the complaint said. More than 100 pounds of rolled-up wire was in the back of the van.

August Htoo, Nay Thar and Chastity Lynn Morris (Courtesy of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office)

Police found that Htoo had a wire cutter, wrenches, a roll of electrical tape and screw bit. Thar had a drill bit in his pocket.

Morris told police she fell asleep in the rear of the van and woke up when they were parked in the lot. She said she wasn’t familiar with metal scrapping for money.

Police discovered three streetlights with wires hanging out of them near the parking lot, and none of the lights in the lot were working. They found about 30 nonfunctioning streetlights with covers open and wires exposed or hanging out in the area of Summit Avenue and Mississippi River Boulevard.

Thar and Morris were charged with the same two counts as Htoo.

In September, Thar was given a stayed one-year prison sentence and put on probation for three years after pleading guilty to the criminal damage to property charge. He had served 93 days in jail after his arrest.

Morris pleaded guilty to possession of burglary or theft tools and was sentenced last week to three years of probation. Her plea deal also includes a stay of imposition. She had served 111 days in jail.

Rising costs

St. Paul had spent just over $1 million this year to repair and replace streetlights and traffic signals damaged by copper wire theft, as of the beginning of September.

The city council recently approved an additional $500,000 for St. Paul Public Works for this year, which has included hiring a dedicated seasonal, full-time electrician crew to repair damaged streetlights.

The problem has skyrocketed in recent years: Restoring lighting from wire theft cost the city $98,588 in 2019, $104,595 in 2020, $294,494 in 2021, $453,172 in 2022 and $1.2 million last year, including labor, materials and equipment.

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