Copper Wire News

Fort Worth police arrest 3 copper thieves caught in the act

Copper wire.

Amazon

The Fort Worth Police Department has made a tiny dent in the copper theft world, putting three suspects behind bars for their involvement in copper cable theft.

According to a release, the thieves were even caught in the act. On Monday, January 20, Northwest Division officers responded to a suspicious person call in the 2900 block of Shamrock Ave. where it was reported that three people appeared to remove copper from a building.

Once officers arrived at the location, they arrested three suspects. Each was charged with one count of Theft of Material aluminum/bronze/copper/brass, under $20K; a felony offense:

Danny Kempe, 57, of Fort Worth
Sheldon Witt, 48, of Fort Worth
Darcie Jackson, 42, of Granbury

In a subsequent investigation, officers used a variety of information — from the Lake Worth Police Department, the Real Time Crime Center, and surveillance video — to determine where the copper was taken from, and confirm the suspects’ involvement.

The investigation recovered 155 pounds of copper wire valued at $675.80.

Copper cable theft is onerous because it can affect and disrupt critical communication services for citizens and businesses.

Fort Worth has seen a surge in the past two years: According to AT&T figures, theft of copper climbed by 545 percent from 2022 to 2024, and theft of other metals went up by 53 percent. Cars pull up and attach the cable, then drive away with it dragging after them. AT&T has offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to a conviction.

A July 2024 story by the New York Times titled "Metal Thieves Are Stripping America's Cities," noted that copper and other valuable materials are being stolen in cities across the U.S. from streetlights, statues, and gravesites, costing millions to repair. Back in 2011, the U.S. Department of Energy estimated that metal theft cost U.S. businesses around $1 billion a year, and that was more than a decade ago.

The success of the case in Fort Worth was due to contributions from the Lake Worth Police Department, with detectives from Fort Worth's Northwest Property Crimes Unit, Metal Theft Unit, and Northwest Patrol.

politics

income news

This is how much it takes to be a middle class earner in DFW in 2025

Photo by Michael Tuszynski on Unsplash

undefined

Maintaining a middle class status in Dallas-Fort Worth only gets harder as the years go on, and the income ceiling to even be labeled as such has just risen even higher. So says SmartAsset's annual "What It Takes to Be Middle Class in America" report for 2025.

According to the latest findings, middle-class income in big cities has a wide range: Depending on where the city is located, it it can be as low as $49,478 or as high as $71,359. This is up from 2024, when middle-class incomes started at $47,568.

Among Texas cities, Plano holds the No. 1 spot on the list with the highest middle-class income ranges.

A household in Plano would need to make a minimum of $72,389 but no more than $217,188 to be considered "middle class" in 2025. Last year, the necessary salary range to maintain a middle class designation in Plano was between $63,651 and $190,004 a year.

The report used a variation of Pew Research's definition of a middle class household, stating the salary range is "two-thirds to double the median U.S. salary." To determine income limits, the report analyzed data from the Census Bureau's 2023 one-year American Community Survey, where the most recent data was available.

New to the 2025 edition, SmartAsset also determined the middle class income thresholds for all 50 states.

Arlington, Virginia has the highest middle class income range in the country, with households needing to make between $93,470 and $280,438 a year to be labeled "middle class."

Middle class earners across Dallas-Fort Worth
Fort Worth households will also have a hard time maintaining a "middle class" designation, as the city climbed from No. 184 last year to No. 46 this year. Earners would have to make between $51,383 and $154,164 annually to be considered middle class in 2025. Last year, they would have needed to make between $47,680 and $143,054 a year.

In a shift from the 2024 report, SmartAsset decided to analyze only the top 100 most populous U.S. cities, after previously ranking 345 cities. That means DFW suburbs like Allen and McKinney – which were among the top 40 cities with the highest middle class income threshold nationwide in 2024 – were left out of this year's analysis.

Here’s what it takes to be middle class in other DFW cities:

No. 43 – Irving: $52,885 to $158,670 yearly
No. 55 – Garland: $47,815 to $143,458 yearly
No. 59 – Dallas: $46,743 to $140,242 yearly
No. 61 – Arlington: $46,134 to $138,416 yearly

Elsewhere in Texas
On the opposite end of the scale, middle class earners in Lubbock have one of the smallest income ranges necessary to be labeled middle class in Texas: Between $36,297 and $108,902 a year. The city ranked 92nd nationwide.

The study says cost of living changes, rising inflation rates, and shifting wages nationwide have made it more difficult for Americans to maintain their "middle class" status.

"For middle-class Americans, the dream has long been a life of reasonable comfort — a stable home, the ability to save enough money to retire, and enough left over for periodic splurges like family vacations, updated cars, or home improvements," the report's author wrote. "But with living costs surging over the past few years, that dream is getting pricier."

Here’s what it takes to be a middle class earner in other Texas cities:

No. 18 – Austin: $60,995 to $183,002 yearly
No. 73 – Corpus Christi: $43,421 to $130,276 yearly
No. 75 – Houston: $41,754 to $125,274 yearly
No. 78 – San Antonio: $41,544 to $124,644 yearly
No. 82 – Laredo: $40,476 to $121,440 yearly
No. 86 – El Paso: $38,208 to $114,634 yearly

In SmartAsset's state-by-state analysis, Texas has the 23rd largest middle class income range. Texas households would need to make between $50,515 and $151,560 to be labeled "middle class" this year. The median income for a Texas household in 2023 came out to $75,780.

The No. 1 state with the highest income range required is Massachusetts, with middle class households needing to make between $66,565 and $199,716 yearly in 2025.

income middle class status reports smartasset dallas plano fort worth