Police: Electrocuted man may have tried to steal copper wire

A man was found electrocuted outside a Huntington Beach business last week after he apparently tried to steal copper wire from the building’s circuit breaker, police said.

On the evening of Dec. 21, Southern California Edison employees located a circuit breaker that had blown out in the 7400 block of Center Avenue and caused a small power outage, Lt. Russell Reinhart said. A deceased man, later identified as Richard Roll, 52, of Santa Ana, was found next to the circuit breaker.

“It appears the man was trying to steal copper wire from the business and electrocuted himself, and that’s what caused his death,” Reinhart said.

The Orange County coroner’s office called the death an “apparent accidental electrocution” and listed the time of death as 7:44 p.m.

Power was restored to the area by Thursday morning, Reinhart said.

—Michael Miller

Twitter: @MichaelMillerHB