Phone lines down twice in June due to theft of copper cables affecting Pinole, Hercules and San Pablo Police, some city departments
Calls continue to be answered by Contra Costa Sheriff’s Office
Third arrest for Daniel Mena-Diaz this year; third suspect still at large
By Commander Matt Avery, Pinole Police Department
At approximately 7:20 PM on Saturday, June 22nd, our Communications Center was alerted to a disruption in our 911 and business lines. Our dedicated communications staff promptly reached out to the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office, swiftly rerouting our 911 calls to their communications center. Simultaneously, our patrol units were dispatched to the area where the previous copper cable theft occurred on June 4th, which led to the disabling of our 911 and business lines. Upon arrival, three male subjects, in defiance of officers’ orders, fled into an open field toward a residential area.
Our officers established a perimeter with the assistance of Hercules officers. Recognizing the need for additional resources, they requested the aid of the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office helicopter and a canine unit. This joint effort led to the successful apprehension of two suspects, with the third remaining at large. A thorough search of the scene revealed tools used for cutting copper cables, and one of the suspects was found in possession of such tools upon arrest.
The suspects are Jesus Arias-Ayala, a 31-year-old male out of Hayward, and Daniel Mena-Diaz, a 49-year-old male out of Richmond. Officers questioned both and they were later booked at the Martinez Detention Facility on the following charges:
- Jesus Francisco Arias-Ayala: felony vandalism and damaging telephone lines
- Daniel Antonio Mena-Diaz: felony vandalism, damaging telephone lines, and violation of probation
That same day, a message to the public was posted on the Pinole PD’s Facebook page reading, “Our phone lines are still down. AT&T is working on restoring service but we do not have an estimated time.
In the interim:
- Emergencies: call 911 and the Contra Costa Sheriff’s Office will transfer the call to Pinole Dispatch for police emergencies
- Non-emergencies: call 510-724-1111 or 510-900-4246 to be connected to Pinole Dispatch
- Records: call 510-914-0375 or email pdrecords@ci.pinole.ca.us
Additionally, many lines are down throughout the other City departments. Please visit: www.ci.pinole.ca.us for email contact information.”
Then, a week later on June 11th, a message was posted on the department’s Facebook, “911 PHONE LINE HAS BEEN RESTORED
911 service has been restored to the Pinole Dispatch Center. 911 calls in the cities of Pinole, Hercules, and San Pablo are being answered by our dispatchers.
The 911 and business phone outage was the result of two incidents where multiple phone cables were cut and stolen for their copper content. City staff has been working with AT&T and CalOES since the thefts to restore 911 service as well as establish temporary phone lines. City staff will continue to work with AT&T and third-party vendors to restore full telephone to all City departments.
Some Pinole and Hercules community members with traditional landline service also remain affected by the outage.”
Then in a post on the Pinole PD’s Facebook page on Saturday, June 22, the public was informed, “Our 911 and non-emergency lines are down again. The Contra Costa Sheriff’s Office is answering 911 calls and transferring the calls to our Dispatch Center, which is operating on a secondary phone system.
For Emergencies
-Call 911: will be answered by CCCSO and forwarded to our Dispatch Center
-Text 911: will be answered by our Dispatch Center.”
Then, in a Facebook post on Wednesday morning, June 25, the public was informed by Pinole PD, “Our phone lines remain down. The Contra Costa Sheriff’s Office is answering 911 calls and transferring the calls to our Dispatch Center, which continues to operate on a secondary phone system. We have restored our 510-724-1111 line but our main business line, 510-724-8950, remains down.” Alternate contact information was also provided.
911 calls for Pinole, Hercules and San Pablo continue to be answered by the Contra Costa Sheriff’s Office and transferred to our Communication Center.
- For emergencies, call or text 911 (text-to-911 is direct to the Pinole Communication Center)
- For non-emergencies, call 510-724-1111 or 510-900-4246
- For Pinole Records: call 510-588-1226
- Please visit https://tinyurl.com/3apnxxen for other Police Department contact information
Several business lines for other City departments are also down. For contact information for other City departments, please visit www.pinole.gov/contact/contact_us.
The incident is still under investigation, and anyone with information is urged to contact the Pinole Police Department Criminal Investigation Division at 510-724-111.
According to localcrimenews.com, this was the third arrest for Mena-Diaz this year, including on March 4th for warrants or holds and on May 8th for possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia. He was also arrested in March 2023 for grand theft of lost property, obstructing or resisting an executive officer, and in November 2020 for trespassing.
According to localcrimenews.com, Arias-Ayala was also arrested in July 2023 by Emeryville PD for petty theft.
Allen D. Payton contributed to this report.
