WILMINGTON, DE — Delaware State Police have arrested two men in connection with a string of copper wire thefts that investigators say caused tens of thousands of dollars in losses and disrupted Verizon service across multiple Newark locations this fall.
According to detectives from Delaware State Police Troop 2 Property Crimes, the investigation began after several incidents involving copper wire cut from Verizon utility poles. The first occurred on September 6, 2025, at approximately 1:40 a.m., when a man allegedly removed wire from poles along Possum Park Road before fleeing in an older-model pickup truck.
A second theft was reported on November 4 at approximately 5:00 a.m., when two suspects worked together to remove copper wire from utility poles in the 700 block of Cornell Drive. Police say the pair left the area in a dark-colored SUV.
Just days later, on November 9 at approximately 2:15 a.m., a suspect removed copper wire from poles in the 200 block of Chapman Road. That incident resulted in a Verizon network outage affecting service in the area.
Detectives estimate the combined losses from materials, damage, and service disruption at roughly $30,000.
Through the course of their investigation, police identified 43-year-old Nathan Barrell of Newark as the suspect in all three incidents and 33-year-old Daniel Tiberi of Wilmington as a suspect in the November 4 theft. Warrants were obtained, and both men were taken into custody without incident on November 20—Barrell in Newark and Tiberi in Wilmington.
Barrell was transported to Troop 2, where he was charged with three felony counts of theft of $1,500 or greater, one felony count of criminal mischief involving utility tampering, two felony counts of second-degree conspiracy, and two counts of criminal mischief. He was arraigned in Justice of the Peace Court 11 and committed to the Howard R. Young Correctional Institution on a $4,000 secured bond.
Tiberi was charged with felony theft of $1,500 or greater, felony second-degree conspiracy, and criminal mischief. He was arraigned in Justice of the Peace Court 2 and released on a $5,000 unsecured bond.
Police emphasize that all charges are allegations, and any suspect, arrestee, or defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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