DENTON COUNTY, Texas – An Aubery man who nearly died seven years ago trying to steal copper from electrified power lines has reportedly injured himself again.
Jimmy Johnson – no, not THAT Jimmy Johnson, a 24-year-old alleged meth head – ended up in Parkland Hospital after nearly being electrocuted in March 2013.
Jimmy was stripping copper from wires attached to a downed utility pole when he grabbed a live wire, deputies with the Denton County Sheriff’s Office said at the time.
Other folks who’ve tried similar I’ll-advised tactics to steal copper to support a drug habit have ended up dead. One deputy said in most cases the suspect ends up fried to a crisp so Jimmy should consider himself lucky.
It looks like Jimmy set the pole on fire so it would crash to the ground and give him easier access to the wires. He just didn’t check to see if all the wires snapped free from the other poles.
He was charged with arson for setting the pole on fire and criminal mischief for the attempted copper theft.
Neighbors said Jimmy injured himself again this past autumn while trying to rake leaves out of a tree in his mom’s front yard. It’s also believed that two winters ago he set his mom’s home to blaze by starting a fire underneath the house in an attempt to thaw out frozen plumbing pipes.