VIDEO: Brazen thieves steal EV charging cables

'Earth Day Grinches' brazenly steal EV charging stations

Some are calling them the "Earth Day Grinches." These thieves are brazenly stealing these expensive electric vehicle charging stations.

LOS ANGELES - Copper thieves have an easy new target... electric vehicle charging stations that are filled with copper wiring.

Brazen thieves were caught on camera cutting the wires from a charging station in Van Nuys.

"Out of the 40 stations that we have, 38 of them were stolen and the other two were damaged," said CEO of the nonprofit One Generation Jenna Hauss.

She says the estimated cost in damages is over $18,000.

"It’s frustrating. I get that anybody that experiences theft or loss you can take it personal but for it to happen to a non-profit, where we serve over 8,000 individuals a year; the most frail older adults homebound isolated, caregivers families...it just stings that much more."

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The parking lot of One Generation is well lit and gated, but the gate was cut wide-open. The incident occurred Tuesday around 2:30 a.m.

Thieves are selling the charging cables to scrap metal dealers, and since most public charging stations are unattended... they are easy targets.

The Los Angeles Police Department told Hauss that this kind of theft is becoming a new trend as more charging stations open up.

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