Law enforcement officials arrested three men last Thursday in connection with coaxial cable taken from a U.S. Cellular tower located in the area of 230th and SH 74 in Purcell.

The same trio, who turned out to be in the United States illegally, did the same thing to a tower in Wayne the day before, authorities reported.

The men, Jerlis Martinez, Juan Martinez and Cristian Orellana, were caught in the act of stealing the coaxial cable from the antenna by a U.S. Cellular site technician, who was in the area due to a cell site losing cellular signal just after 12 noon.

McClain County Sheriff Deputies and members of the Purcell Police Department responded to the site and intercepted the suspects as they were attempting to leave the area in a Jeep pulling a cargo trailer loaded with copper coax cable.

During their investigation officers discovered approximately 3,600 feet of copper coax lines servicing the tower had been removed causing the cellular site to be inoperable.

Officers reported the suspects had loaded several hundred feet of copper coax into the cargo trailer but left a large portion of the copper near the tower due to being caught in the act.

Climbing gear and cutting tools were located inside the cargo trailer, along with the previously cut copper coax cable.

The trio is facing multiple felony charges with additional charges expected to be filed as the investigation continues.