You are correct Larry, the act itself *IS* criminal. But in order to be able to successfully prosecute the perpetrator, one needs to be able to show: 1) WHO did it, and 2) that there was INTENT. Without those two, no individual will ever be prosecuted.
Tell ya what - you take the photo Jeff put up, with the info he provided, and go to your local prosecutor and ask him if he'd be able/willing to pursue a court case without info regarding who (SPECIFICALLY) did it. (An I mean what individual actually cut the cable, not whose machine it's connected to.) I think you're in for a surprise. Better yet, get out your statutes for wherever you live and read the statute on Criminal Damage to Property. You'll find references similar to this (from Illinois law): Sec. 21‑1. Criminal damage to property. (1) A person commits an illegal act when he: (a) knowingly damages any property of another without his consent; Note where it says "person", "knowingly" and "without his consent". In IL, you'd need to prove these three things before any conviction can be achieved. In this instance, "without consent" goes without saying... Sure, one can point fingers at the group who owns the equipment to which the offending coax is connected, but until we can prove >>WHO<< cut that cable, there is no criminal prosecution. Sorry... (Of course, there are grounds for a CIVIL suit, but as far as anything criminal - no dice.) I understand the futility of the situation - and believe me, nobody would like to nab idiots like this more than those of us here, but it is apparent you don’t deal with the legal system on a regular basis... NOW PLEASE DON’T MISUNDERSTAND MY STATEMEMT - IT IS NOT MEANT AS DEGRADING!! However, I **AM** familiar with the legal system, so I speak from a relative position of knowledge. Now, for fear of having strayed WAY off topic, I will cease any further "transmissions" on this subject. 73, Mark - N9WYS -----Original Message----- From: Repeater-Builder@yahoogroups.com [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Larry Wagoner Sent: Tuesday, April 22, 2008 6:25 AM To: Repeater-Builder@yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: Re: [Repeater-Builder] Re: Bad adapter At 06:22 AM 4/22/2008, you wrote: >Larry, >I thought the same thing except I would go for more 240 V...a good >old TV transformer with about 800V would do. Also if you stand >inside the building looking for smoke it would lead to the user of >the feedline. Bet they would not do it again. >This was obviously a poor and botched job. The RG58 and crummy >splice tells one this person would not be working at my site. I >would not even let them on the property to look. I defer to your obviously superior ideas. :) I do think in all seriousness that there should be criminal charges in play. The idea that you cannot show criminal intent when someone CUT your hardline is absurd. The cutting of the hardline ITSELF is criminal. Larry N5WLW