Delaware State Police

Superintendent Colonel William D. Crotty

State Police Arrest Two for String of Copper Wire Thefts

Date Posted: Monday, November 24th, 2025

new release

Delaware State Police have arrested 43-year-old Nathan Barrell, of Newark, Delaware, and 33-year-old Daniel Tiberi, of Wilmington, Delaware, in connection with multiple copper wire thefts from Verizon utility poles.

Following a series of reported copper wire thefts, detectives from Delaware State Police Troop 2 Property Crimes took over the investigation and learned the following:

On September 6, 2025, at approximately 1:40 a.m., a man cut copper wire from Verizon utility poles on Possum Park Road. The suspect drove away in an older-model pickup truck.

On November 4, 2025, at approximately 5:00 a.m., two men worked together to remove copper wire from Verizon utility poles in the 700 block of Cornell Drive, in Newark. The suspects left in a dark colored SUV.

On November 9, 2025, at approximately 2:15 a.m., a man removed copper wire from Verizon utility poles in the 200 block of Chapman Road, in Newark. This incident caused a Verizon service network outage.

Over the course of the three incidents, the suspects caused an estimated $30,000 worth of losses in materials and damages.

During an investigation, detectives were able to identify Nathan Barrell as the suspect in all three incidents and Daniel Tiberi as a suspect in the November 4th incident.

After obtaining warrants for their arrest, on November 20, 2025, detectives located Barrell in Newark and Tiberi in Wilmington and took them into custody them without incident.

Barrell was taken to Troop 2 where he was charged with the below listed offenses, arraigned by Justice of the Peace Court 11, and committed to the Howard R. Young Correctional Institution on a $4,000 secured bond.

Image of Nathan Barrell

Theft $1,500 or Greater (Felony) – 3 counts
Criminal Mischief $5000 or More – Tampers with Gas, Electric, Utilities, Etc. (Felony)
Conspiracy 2nd Degree (Felony) – 2 counts
Criminal Mischief – 2 counts

Tiberi was taken to Troop 2 where he was charged with the below listed offenses, arraigned by Justice of the Peace Court 2, and released on a $5,000 unsecured bond.

Image of Daniel Tiberi