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Police nab copper thief at Apple’s “spaceship” campus site

A rendering of Apple's new "spaceship" campus, to be built in Cupertino (Apple press photo)
A rendering of Apple’s new “spaceship” campus, to be built in Cupertino (Apple press photo)

Police busted a man for allegedly trying to steal copper material from the construction site of Apple’s new “spaceship” campus over the weekend.

The Desk received a tip late Saturday night that a man was caught by police after trying to steal metal from the site of Apple’s new campus in Cupertino. The man sustained a leg injury after being apprehended by a police dog, according to law enforcement dispatch radio.

In an email late Monday evening to The Desk, a spokesperson for the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Department confirmed the incident, saying 56-year-old Belmont, California resident Glenn Cartwright was found hiding in some bushes on the property.

Police say Cartwright initially refused their orders to come out of hiding. A police dog eventually bit the man, drawing him out of hiding. Cartwright was booked into jail after receiving medical attention for the bite.

Police say they found copper wiring, copper piping and a bag of tools near the construction site’s entrance.

Copper theft is not uncommon in the San Francisco Bay Area, with criminals drawn to the high resale value of the metal. Copper thieves have been blamed on several power outages due to their crimes and, on one occasion, even caused a small explosion on the campus of UC Berkeley.

Last month, Apple received final approval from the city of Cupertino to build it’s much-anticipated “spaceship” campus on the site of the old Hewlett-Packard building. Construction crews began demolishing buildings on the site last week.

Click here to see Cartwright’s mugshot. (Thanks to TheFireTracker2 for the tip)

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About the Author:

Matthew Keys

Matthew Keys covers the business of broadcast and streaming TV, radio broadcasting, social media, technology and telecommunications. A journalist for over 15 years, Matthew previously worked at Thomson Reuters, KGO-TV in San Francisco, KTXL in Sacramento and McNaughton Newspapers. He received 9 California Journalism Awards between 2018 and 2020, and is a member of IRE (Investigative Reporters and Editors).
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