2 Florida Men Accused Of Stealing Enormous Power Pole After Irma

Police in Jacksonville, Florida, have arrested two men for allegedly trying to steal a gigantic power pole in the wake of Hurricane Irma.

Blake Lee Waller, 42, and Victor Walter Apeler, 46, each now face a charge of grand theft after they were reportedly caught strapping the $2,500-worth JEA utility pipe to an SUV on Wednesday, per The Florida Times-Union.

The Jacksonville Sheriffs Office shared this photograph of the incident on Twitter, and its since gone viral.

These two were caught stealing a JEA pole just this morning! Citizens watching out and officers cleaning up = partnership! #Irma #JSO pic.twitter.com/q6VKOvPKuU

Jax Sheriff's Office (@JSOPIO) September 13, 2017","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Jax Sheriff's Office","author_url":"https://twitter.com/JSOPIO","cache_age":86400,"description":"These two were caught stealing a JEA pole just this morning! Citizens watching out and officers cleaning up = partnership! #Irma #JSO pic.twitter.com/q6VKOvPKuU— Jax Sheriff's Office (@JSOPIO) September 13, 2017\n","provider_name":"Twitter","thumbnail_height":1536,"thumbnail_url":"https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DJndo6GWsAElBmC.jpg:large","thumbnail_width":2048,"title":"Jax Sheriff's Office on Twitter","type":"rich","url":"https://twitter.com/JSOPIO/status/908000530793984000","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"news","device":"mobile","editionInfo":{"id":"us","name":"U.S.","link":"https://action.news","locale":"en_US"},"originalEdition":"us","isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"59ba5567e4b02da0e13f6b41","entryPermalink":"https://action.news/entry/florida-power-pole-arrests-photograph_n_59ba5567e4b02da0e13f6b41","entryTagsList":"us-news,hurricane-irma,jacksonville-florida,jacksonville-sheriffs-office,the-florida-times-union,@ads_scary,@amazonecho,@health_ibs,@health_models","sectionSlug":"crime","deptSlug":"politics-news","sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"us-news,weird-news","isWide":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"us.crime","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc111dcf87c2cd2f5d8bf","overrides":{"front_page_top_videos":{"desktop":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","mobileweb":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d"},"top_media":{"desktop":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","mobile":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"anthology":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"content":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"}},"playerUpdates":{"5668ae6ee4b0b5e26955d6a6":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","56aa41bae4b091744c0440d8":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81","5841b2b5cc52c716ec6e5a7f":"60b8e355cdd90620331ba185","58b5e2b8d85a10302feee895":"60b64316b171b7444beafdb2","58b74698f78ced31417819ae":"60b8e5bec5449357a7ad9b52","58b74ccecebcea57e2c3a3d1":"60b8e5eac5449357a7ad9ca5","58cff690d85a100b9992bc39":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","58cffb3fb6d9b972a49a3c9d":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","58cffdd74d96935d7d6ec180":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","58d03a84f78ced6518eb2fa7":"60b643c82e76be41f112735c","592edf20e0fa177b0c26f7fd":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","5b35266b158f855373e28256":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","5c116f29f79c4171d82b7c2a":"60b64440b171b7444beb040b","5c1170fc600c9a697bf0c6b9":"60b646102e76be41f1127ffc","5c47791afa1b317df8ae0c4f":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","5c477987a6b48b35f164773d":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","5c4779ee943c3c2a64f28371":"60b8e747cdd90620331bb861","5c477a26fcd67b26879bc7c2":"60b8e788c5449357a7ada67b","5d8921a78c3ae845f366c9b6":"60ae7be5f3a7c13a30417ff9","58b98b00ba82aa39a6534321":"60d0de7c9340d7032ad1146c","58b9d14cb6d9b96c9ec32af3":"60d0dec19340d7032ad115a0","58cff8eccebcea42931e0436":"60d0e005b627221e9d819d44","592edf5de0fa177b0c26f95b":"60d0e38fb627221e9d81adcf","58cff72fd85a100b9992c112":"60d0e447b627221e9d81b0da","56b4d34fe4b022697697c400":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","60b8e4c0c5449357a7ad957d":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"ff7fdddc-5441-4253-abc4-f12a33fad58b","clickToPlayPlayer":"d014396e-b366-4c17-aeac-3ce906fa3fd0","videoPagePlayer":"f010447b-d244-4111-a314-7b4542ae4145","verticalPlayer":"e58cb05a-0bc8-4210-9108-fea82726c065","stickyPlayerControl":"52ea1755-d601-4ad1-bccc-d8cce3f0e5da","stickyPlayerON":"8055e9e5-3bda-4933-8d45-9ad814fb6e22"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mNkYAAAAAYAAjCB0C8AAAAASUVORK5CYII=","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":6},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_content":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":1},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"59ba5567e4b02da0e13f6b41","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"mobile","page_edition":"en-us"},"tags":[{"name":"U.S. News","slug":"us-news","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/us-news","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/us-news","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/us-news"},"relegenceSubjectId":981465,"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"World News","slug":"world-news"},"topic":{"title":"United States","slug":"united-states","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/united-states"},{"name":"Hurricane Irma","slug":"hurricane-irma","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/hurricane-irma","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/hurricane-irma","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/hurricane-irma"},"relegenceId":6448851,"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"U.S. News","slug":"us-news"},"topic":{"title":"Hurricane Irma","slug":"hurricane-irma","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/hurricane-irma"},{"name":"Jacksonville, Florida","slug":"jacksonville-florida","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/jacksonville-florida","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/jacksonville-florida","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/jacksonville-florida"},"relegenceId":3453717,"url":"https://action.news/topic/jacksonville-florida"},{"name":"Jacksonville Sheriff's Office","slug":"jacksonville-sheriffs-office","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/jacksonville-sheriffs-office","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/jacksonville-sheriffs-office","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/jacksonville-sheriffs-office"},"relegenceId":3887280,"url":"https://action.news/topic/jacksonville-sheriffs-office"},{"name":"The Florida Times-Union","slug":"the-florida-times-union","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/the-florida-times-union","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/the-florida-times-union","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/the-florida-times-union"},"relegenceId":3538543,"url":"https://action.news/topic/the-florida-times-union"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["

\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false,"enhancements":{}}">

These two were caught stealing a JEA pole just this morning! Citizens watching out and officers cleaning up = partnership! #Irma #JSO pic.twitter.com/q6VKOvPKuU
Jax Sheriff's Office (@JSOPIO) September 13, 2017

Your Support Has Never Been More Critical

Other news outlets have retreated behind paywalls. At HuffPost, we believe journalism should be free for everyone.

Would you help us provide essential information to our readers during this critical time? We can't do it without you.

Can't afford to contribute? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.

You've supported HuffPost before, and we'll be honest we could use your help again . We view our mission to provide free, fair news as critically important in this crucial moment, and we can't do it without you.

Whether you give once or many more times, we appreciate your contribution to keeping our journalism free for all.

Whether you give just one more time or sign up again to contribute regularly, we appreciate you playing a part in keeping our journalism free for all.

Support HuffPost

Citizens watching out and officers cleaning up = partnership! the sheriffs office captioned the snap.

According to Action News Jax, Apeler initially told police he was just moving the downed pole away from traffic. A pawn shop database search revealed he had sold dozens of pieces of scrap metal since January, however.

Both men remain in custody without bond at Jacksonville Sheriffs Offices pretrial detention facility. Their first court appearance is scheduled for Thursday.