Florida Statutes
Fla. Stat. § 812.145 (2025)
Theft of copper or other nonferrous metals.
✓ 2025 Florida Statutes — current through the 2025 Regular Session
Find cases:
SyfertCases citing this section
FL-LEGleg.state.fl.us
JustiaFla. Statutes
CornellLII Search
CasesGoogle Scholar
812.145 Theft of copper or other nonferrous metals.—
(1) As used in this section, the term:
(a) “Communications services” means the transmission, conveyance, or routing of voice, data, audio, video, or any other information or signals, including cable services, to a point, or between or among points, by or through any electronic, radio, satellite, cable, optical, microwave, or other medium or method now in existence or hereafter devised, regardless of the protocol used for such transmission or conveyance. The term includes such transmission, conveyance, or routing in which computer processing applications are used to act on the form, code, or protocol of the content for purposes of transmission, conveyance, or routing without regard to whether such service is referred to as voice-over-Internet-protocol services or is classified by the Federal Communications Commission as enhanced or value-added.
(b) “Communications services provider” includes any person, firm, corporation, or political subdivision, whether private, municipal, county, or cooperative, which is engaged in the sale, generation, provision, or delivery of communications services.
(c) “Copper or other nonferrous metals” means metals not containing significant quantities of iron or steel, including, without limitation, copper, copper alloy, copper utility or communications service wire, brass, aluminum, bronze, lead, zinc, nickel, and alloys thereof.
(d) “Electrical substation” means a facility that takes electricity from the transmission grid and converts it to a lower voltage so it can be distributed to customers in the local area on the local distribution grid through one or more distribution lines less than 69 kilovolts in size.
(e) “Utility” means a public utility or electric utility as defined in s. 366.02, or a person, firm, corporation, association, or political subdivision, whether private, municipal, county, or cooperative, which is engaged in the sale, generation, provision, or delivery of gas, electricity, heat, water, oil, sewer service, or telephone, telegraph, radio, telecommunications, or communications service. The term includes any person, firm, corporation, association, or political subdivision, whether private, municipal, county, or cooperative, which is engaged in the sale, generation, provision, or delivery of gas or electricity services.
(f) “Utility service” means electricity for light, heat, or power and natural or manufactured gas for light, heat, or power, including the transportation, delivery, transmission, and distribution of electricity or natural or manufactured gas.
(2) A person who knowingly and intentionally takes copper or other nonferrous metals from a utility or communications services provider, thereby causing damage to the facilities of a utility or communications services provider, interrupting or interfering with utility service or communications services, or interfering with the ability of a utility or communications services provider to provide service, commits a felony of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.
(3) A person who is found in a civil action to have illegally taken copper or other nonferrous metals from a utility or communications services provider based on a conviction for a violation of subsection (2) is liable to the utility or communications services provider for damages in an amount equal to three times the actual damages sustained by the utility or communications services provider due to any personal injury, wrongful death, or property damage caused by the illegal taking of the nonferrous metals or an amount equal to three times any claim made against the utility or communications services provider for any personal injury, wrongful death, or property damage caused by the malfunction of the facilities of the utility or communications services provider resulting from the violation of subsection (2), whichever is greater.
Arrestable Offenses under F.S. 812.145
M = misdemeanor · F = felony · degree: F=1st S=2nd T=3rd§812.145(2)LARCTAKE COPPER OTHER METAL INTERFERE DAMG UTILITY
§812.145(4)LARCTAKE COPPER OTHER METAL ELECTRICAL SUBSTATION
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 1
case, 2013–2013 · leading case: Ramsey v. State, 124 So. 3d 444 (Fla. 1st DCA 2013).
Ramsey v. State, 124 So. 3d 444 (Fla. 1st DCA 2013). “] § 812.145(2), Fla. Stat. (2011). To overcome Appellant’s motion to dismiss, the State had to present “sufficient facts that, when viewed in a light most favorable to the State, show that a reasonable jury could find in its favor.”
— 812.145(2) — 1 case
Ramsey v. State, 124 So. 3d 444 (Fla. 1st DCA 2013). “] § 812.145(2), Fla. Stat. (2011). To overcome Appellant’s motion to dismiss, the State had to present “sufficient facts that, when viewed in a light most favorable to the State, show that a reasonable jury could find in its favor.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and
treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.