Buncombe County -- May 4, 2026: The Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office has announced the arrest of five individuals following a multi-month investigation into an organized wire theft ring targeting AT&T infrastructure. The operation, which tracked activity from December 2025 through May 2026, uncovered a series of thefts that resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages and critical service disruptions.
The Investigation
Detectives identified several "burn sites" in the Swannanoa and Leicester communities where stolen copper-clad and pure copper wire was stripped of its insulation and processed for sale. The investigation was a collaborative effort involving District 1 detectives and AT&T’s Asset Protection team to link specific infrastructure damage to the organized group.
Suspects and Charges
The five individuals arrested in connection with this ring face a range of felony and misdemeanor charges:
Travis Warren Glenn: Charged with multiple counts of Felony Larceny, Injury to Utility Wires or Fixtures, and Injury to Property while Obtaining Nonferrous Metals. (Released on $45,000 bond).
Sheron Nicole Nelon: Charged with Felony Larceny, Felony Conspiracy, and offenses related to damaging utility wires and obtaining nonferrous metals. (Released on $50,000 bond).
Justin Bryant Banks: Charged with Obtaining Property by False Pretenses, Felony Conspiracy, and three active warrants tied directly to the wire theft investigation. (Bond set at $10,200).
Joseph Clay Bryant: Charged with Obtaining Property by False Pretenses and Felony Conspiracy. (Bond set at $5,000).
Kevin Micheal Fox: Charged with Misdemeanor Larceny, Possession of Stolen Goods, and offenses related to nonferrous metals. (Released on $5,000 bond).
Infrastructure and Public Safety Impact
According to the Sheriff's Office, the scale of the operation caused significant disruption to critical infrastructure throughout Western North Carolina:
Financial Loss: While investigators recovered cut wire valued in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, authorities noted that the cost of labor and infrastructure repair far exceeds the scrap value of the metal.
Public Safety: The damage to AT&T transmission lines led to repeated 911 service outages for local residents, creating a direct threat to emergency response capabilities.
Legal Stakes: Under North Carolina’s strengthened utility protection laws, Injury to Utility Wires is prosecuted as a high-level felony due to the direct impact on community safety and communication.
A Regional Crackdown
This case is part of an ongoing effort by local law enforcement to curb the rise in metal theft using license plate readers and scrap metal database tracking. Authorities continue to monitor local recycling centers to ensure compliance with state laws regarding the sale of nonferrous metals.