FORT WORTH, Texas — Sometimes a noisy neighbor is a good thing.
In a Fort Worth neighborhood, it is needed after three men were caught trying to cut and steal a utility line for the copper within it.
“Just be vigilant,” Jerry Halbert said.
Halbert said on Wednesday morning he caught the men attempting to steal the copper wiring from a utility pole in front of his home.
At about 11 a.m., Halbert said he and his wife had just got back home from lunch when he noticed a white truck sitting outside his home. One of the men approached him and asked how long they were going to be home.
“That bucket truck didn't have any decals on it or anything,” he said. “Something told me this isn't right."
As his wife went to call the police, he said she could not because the phone line was cut.
Halbert said the men came back several times throughout the night trying to finish the job but were unsuccessful.
He called the police a second time. Fort Worth police told WFAA that three men were reported in the area driving a white pickup truck.
They haven’t made any arrests yet.
This problem is happening not just in Fort Worth but also in Dallas.
Last month, residents in a northwest Dallas neighborhood say copper thieves hit their area four times in three weeks.
“With this kind of hard work and you're dedicated to trying to get this down this many times just go get a job and get paid for it,” said Halbert.
He said he wants others to be a little more cautious because it can happen to anyone at any time.
“If it looks suspicious and you think, hey this just isn't right just call police,” he said.