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MILWAUKEE — May 9, 2026 — A 51-year-old Milwaukee man is facing multiple felony charges after police linked him to a series of copper wire thefts that darkened dozens of streetlights across the city, according to a criminal complaint filed in Milwaukee County Circuit Court.
Alvin Clifton Harris was arrested after investigators connected him to a broken-windowed blue SUV, surveillance video, and a stakeout that caught him near another theft. The complaint describes a pattern spanning September into October, with copper pulled from underground junction boxes and streetlight bases.
The probe started in September, when police noticed a growing number of outages in residential areas. Thieves had pried open public works equipment, stripped out copper wiring, and left junction boxes and streetlight bases damaged. That triggered a broader look at similar reports across the city.
On Sept. 9, an officer was sent to a theft-in-progress call at 5426 N. 66th St. The officer found multiple junction boxes opened and damaged along North 66th Street and West Birch Avenue, leaving dozens of streetlights without power. Then the officer spotted a blue SUV with a broken windshield leaving the area. Police say Harris ignored signals and led them on a short pursuit that ended near 5055 N. 64th St. before he escaped.
The case took a turn on Oct. 1, when a property owner at 3246 N. Teutonia Ave. turned over surveillance video showing Harris and another person tampering with an underground electrical vault.
A city electrician later checked four vaults along North Teutonia Avenue and determined roughly 1,000 feet of copper wiring had been removed, with a loss estimated at more than $4,000. The theft caused service interruptions that lasted several days. The estimate covered only the value of the wire itself; it did not include repair work or damage to the vaults.
By mid-October, police were watching the area near North Teutonia Avenue and West Nash Street. Officers said they saw Harris and other people pull an estimated 100 to 150 feet of streetlight wiring from a ground vault at 3739 N. Teutonia Ave.
The group used a car to drag the heavy cable down an alley in the 3700 block, between North 14th and North 15th streets. When police stopped that vehicle behind 3732 N. 15th St., Harris ran away on foot. He left his SUV behind, and officers found his identification cards, wire cutters, and other tools inside.
Harris was taken into custody about a week later. At the time of his arrest, police say he was in possession of crack cocaine, a digital scale, and more than $500 in cash.
During an interview, Harris admitted to driving the blue SUV and being present during the copper thefts. He said he never removed the wiring himself. Instead, he told police he bought the stolen copper from the people he worked with, paying them in cocaine and small amounts of cash, then sold the metal to scrap yards.
The personal nickname surfaced in interviews with one of the other people involved. The accomplice said the group called Harris the “Green Goblin” because of his vehicle and his “vicious” demeanor.
Harris now faces felony charges for conspiracy to commit criminal damage to property, conspiracy to commit theft, fleeing an officer, and possession with intent to deliver cocaine as a repeat offender.
Wisconsin’s repeat-offender law lets a judge increase the maximum penalty on the drug charge, and all four charges carry the possibility of prison time. If Harris is convicted on all counts, authorities say he could spend decades behind bars.
Copper theft from city infrastructure is not a victimless crime. When streetlights lose power, whole blocks can become dangerous after dark. Repair crews have to spend time and money to replace wiring, reconnect power, and fix damaged boxes. In this case, the city had to respond to multiple vaults in the Teutonia Avenue corridor alone.
Milwaukee has seen similar thefts before. Public works crews often find cable cut and removed overnight, leaving communities with costly repairs and dark corners. Because copper can be sold quickly at scrap yards, thieves treat streetlight wiring as an easy target. The damage, however, runs much higher than the metal’s scrap value.
It was not immediately clear whether Harris had an attorney or entered a plea. The complaint references accomplices, but it does not say whether anyone else has been charged. The investigation remains open.
